U.S. arrests 10 on fake license charges

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- At least 10 people have been arrested in three states in connection with alleged efforts to fraudulently obtain commercial trucking licenses allowing the transportation of hazardous materials, authorities said Wednesday night.

The arrests of individuals in the Seattle, Detroit and Kansas City areas have not been tied to any terrorist plot.

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"It's too early to tell if there's any connection," said Justice Department spokeswoman Susan Dryden.

Tuesday, Attorney General John Ashcroft said "several individuals" who may have links to the hijackers implicated in the terrorist attacks had sought or held licenses to transport hazardous materials.

An FBI advisory sent out last week to the American Trucking Association cited unconfirmed threats involving the "use of chemical, biological, and/or radiological/nuclear WMD (weapons of mass destruction)." The advisory called on truckers and workers at hazardous waste facilities to be on the lookout for any "suspicious behavior."

The 10 men arrested were among 20 people charged in Pittsburgh since the September 11 terrorist attacks for seeking the fraudulent documents. At least four of the men do not speak English.

All of the licenses were issued in Pittsburgh -- beginning in July 1999. The most recent license was issued in January 2000.

The men are charged with conspiracy to possess and obtain false and fraudulent identification documents, specifically commercial driver's licenses with a "hazardous materials endorsement."

The individual arrested in the Kansas City area was identified as Wather al-Atabi, according to a criminal complaint issued in Pittsburgh. Five men -- identified as Hussain al-Obaidi, Akeel al-Aboudy, Hatef al-Atabi, Sabah al-Hachami, Samir Almazaal -- were taken into custody in Detroit.

Four others were arrested in the Seattle area, an official with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington told CNN.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said three of the men were arrested early Wednesday and a fourth man was arrested in late afternoon.

The men -- Ali al-Azawi, 29; Hussain Sudani, 31, Haider al-Tamimi, 28, and Mustafa al-Aboody, 29 -- are to appear in federal court in Seattle at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The official with the U.S. Attorney's office said none of the men speaks English and that they will have translators for the court appearance.

The four Seattle-area men were identified as Iraqis, said an official with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington. Federal officials said they had no evidence connecting the men with the terrorist attacks, the Seattle Times reported.

According to court documents, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation launched an investigation in March 2000 into possible criminal activity involving a driver's license examiner in Pittsburgh.

The investigation found that at least 20 individuals "who held non-commercial licenses" obtained the licenses fraudulently, including 18 who received authority to transport hazardous materials. Some of the licenses were sold for as much as $350.

The driver's license examiner "provided these driver's licenses to individuals who did not complete required tests or who had suspended licenses and were not otherwise eligible," the court documents say.

The papers also say the examiner, who is cooperating with authorities, identified a Middle Eastern man as a middleman in the scheme "who assisted the 20 individuals." That man is identified as Abdul Mohamman, otherwise known as "Ben." The court papers did not say if Mohamman is among those charged.

The examiner said the alleged middleman typically brought him two to three individuals at a time -- from places as far away as Washington state and Tennessee. The court documents say the examiner was paid $50 to $100 per license, money that was placed under his desk calendar.

-- CNN Justice Department Producer Terry Frieden contributed to this report.