More men arrested in hazardous license probe

By Terry Frieden
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal agents arrested eight more Middle Eastern men Thursday and charged them with fraudulently obtaining trucking licenses that allow them to transport hazardous materials.

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The arrests in Pennsylvania, Texas and Michigan brought to 18 the number of men arrested in the past two days.

Officials continued a widespread search for two other men, Fadhil Al-Khaledy of Michigan and Raad Al-Malfky of Tennessee. Three of the men arrested in Pennsylvania were released under highly restrictive conditions on $10,000 bond each.

The men -- Kumeit Alaraf, Ali Alubeidy and Alawi Al-Baraa -- were ordered to surrender their international travel documents and trucker's licenses.

They were placed under a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in their homes and were required to report daily pending their trial; they cannot leave the Pittsburgh area without court approval.

A preliminary hearing was set for 9:30 a.m. on October 5.

All those arrested are among 20 people charged in Pittsburgh since the September 11 terrorist attacks for seeking fraudulent documents.

None of the arrests has been tied to any terrorist plot.

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

The men were charged with conspiracy to possess and obtain false and fraudulent identification documents, specifically commercial driver's licenses with a "hazardous materials endorsement." The FBI arrested 10 men Wednesday in the Seattle, Detroit and Kansas City areas on the same charges.

Two men arrested in western Washington state -- Ali al-Azawi, 29, and Mustafa al-Aboody -- were released on strict conditions Thursday. Two others -- Hussain Sudani, 31, and Haider al-Tamimi, 28 -- were ordered to remain in custody, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Al-Azawi and al-Aboody were released because they work for a legitimate trucking company. They must continue to live at their current residence, remain employed and cannot travel outside of the Seattle area without court approval.

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 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," according to court documents.

The papers also said the examiner, who is cooperating with authorities, identified a Middle Eastern man as a middleman in the scheme "who assisted the 20 individuals."

The man was identified as Abdul Mohamman, otherwise known as "Ben." The court papers did not say whether Mohamman would be 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 said the examiner was paid $50 to $100 per license, money that was placed under his desk calendar.