Posted on Tue, Jul. 27, 2004
LYNN BREZOSKY
Associated Press
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Federal authorities are investigating whether Farida Goolam Mohamed Ahmed has ties to al Qaeda or other terrorists groups but have not substantiated anything so far, a senior federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
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The Associated Press reported earlier Tuesday that authorities believed crime syndicates operating within the South African government were believed to be selling illegal passports for as little as $77 apiece.
While it's believed the passports mostly go to poor people hoping to get into Europe or the United States a little easier, the director general of South Africa's Department of Home Affairs said South African passports had been found in the hands of al Qaeda militants and other terrorists traveling through Europe.
Eddie Rios, a spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol in McAllen, said the agency had not been told that South African passports were being used by terrorists.
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http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/9256689.htm?ERIGHTS=4770286898935109673dfw::nobuggin@ablhd.com&KRD_RM=3qqmlrrslsprrmjjjjjjjjkqop|asdoij|N
Terrorists illegally got South African passports
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The illicit acquisition of the passports, which allow travel through many African countries and Britain without visas, sent shock waves through South Africa after one top police official said ''boxes and boxes" of the documents were discovered in London.
Barry Gilder, director general of the Department of Home Affairs, said he has come across a number of instances in which South African passports were found in the hands of Al Qaeda suspects or their associates in Europe -- both in his current capacity and as a former deputy director in the National Intelligence Agency.
Gilder gave no specifics, and he described these as ''isolated" cases. But he said his department is moving aggressively to counter any threat, dedicating more senior officials to fight corruption and introducing identity cards and passports containing microchips with the owner's fingerprints.
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Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi of South Africa called attention to the illegal acquisition of passports when he told the National Assembly's safety and security committee that a number of people with ''evil intentions against this country" were arrested here and sent home shortly before April 14 elections. This prompted the arrests of suspected Al Qaeda members in Jordan, Syria, and Britain, he said.
''In part of this operation, in London, the British police found boxes and boxes of South African passports in the home of one of these people, or an associate of these people," Selebi said, according to local news reports. A transcript of his remarks was unavailable, and Selebi's office did not respond to requests for details.
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http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2004/07/28/terrorists_illegally_got_south_african_passports/Once again, terrorism is charged in the press, while evidence is lacking. And what about all those South African passports? Great little soundbites from Gilder and Selebi, with no corroborating details; meanwhile, "Eddie Rios, a spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol in McAllen, said the agency had not been told that South African passports were being used by terrorists."