BALTIMORESUN.COM NEWS ALERT

Harbor, Fort McHenry tunnels reopen after terror threat

Egyptian man held in threat to city tunnels
Portions of I-95 briefly shut down on concerns over suspected terrorist plot; Uncorroborated information said to come from source abroad

By Matthew Dolan and Siobhan Gorman
Sun Reporters
Originally published October 18, 2005, 5:37 PM EDT


Federal authorities are detaining at least one man of Egyptian origin who worked at a Middle Eastern market in Baltimore in connection with a threat that closed Interstate 95 and the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels after concern over a suspected terrorist plot to blow up one of the tunnels.

The shutdown caused gridlock throughout the metropolitan region as police and federal agents investigated the threat.

Federal law enforcement officials said the threat was made against an unspecified tunnel by an informant in a foreign country who said suspects were men of Egyptian origin living in the Baltimore area. The official said investigators had several names, but had no arrest warrants.

The informant's information was uncorroborated, the official said. The informant is being detained in an unspecified foreign country because of potential immigration violations. It was unclear whether the man was a United States citizen, the sources said.

The investigation has been ongoing for the past two or three days, but the decision to close the tunnels was made by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who apparently were concerned that the suspects may act as word of the investigation got out.

According to the source, who has been briefed on the investigation, the detained man is associated with Koko Market in the 6000 block of Eastern Avenue in Highlandtown.

Authorities led the man from the market early this afternoon, putting him inside a black sport utility vehicle. Landlord Mike Loukakis said his tenant, Majed Hussein, has run a store there for seven years.

"He was nice to everybody," Loukakis said.

A woman who answered the phone at Hussein's White Marsh home said her husband was not home and she has not been able to speak with him. She declined to give her name or comment further.

There were unconfirmed reports on the WJZ-TV Web site that the plot involved taking a bomb-laden delivery truck from the market into a tunnel, where it would be detonated.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm told the Associated Press that authorities made about a half-dozen raids in the Baltimore area about 1 p.m.

An average of 70,000 vehicles a day went through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel in 2004. The Fort McHenry Tunnel averaged 116,000 vehicles a day.

Authorities reopened portions of I-95 and the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels about 1:30 p.m.

"Acting out of an abundance of caution [the Maryland Transportation Authority Police] elected late this morning to close the Harbor Tunnel in both directions and to allow only limited access at the Fort McHenry tunnel," said Jim Pettit, a spokesman for the governor's office of homeland security.

The federal Department of Homeland Security and FBI issued a joint statement saying the two agencies last week shared information with state and local law enforcement officials about the potential threat. The agencies said the threat's credibility was undetermined and did not specify a tunnel in the Baltimore area.

The agencies said they support whatever precautions local and state authorities take to deal with the potential threats while attempting to secure the public safety.

The agencies said their investigation into the threat is continuing.

Authorities released few details today.

"I cannot speak specifically about the threat at this time," said Gary McLhinney, chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.

But McLhinney defended closing the tunnels.

"The number one priority is the safety of the citizens of Maryland who are traveling on our roadways. We will always err on the side of public safety. ... We have not found anything that causes us great concern at this point."

Said a federal law enforcement official: "We did receive some threat information. They're in the process of working it through. We get a lot of this stuff. Each time you get it, you have to work it through until you can nail it down."

The area most immediately affected during the closures was I-95 near the tunnels and Key Highway, which is also near the Maryland Port. Police were seen stopping trucks and vans and searching with dogs. At the Fort McHenry Tunnel, police barricaded lanes and then ushered the public out of an office near the tolls.

On Oct. 6, a threat to blow up New York's subway system prompted authorities to tighten security underground. Several days later, officials said there was no clear evidence to back up the threat, and security was scaled back.

The federal law enforcement official said they investigate carefully before shutting down major highways.

"One of the issues that people don't understand is we get a lot of this," the official said. "There is a lot of footwork that goes behind these things either trying to validate or invalidate the information. It's up to the local authorities and the elected officials to make determinations based on the information they have."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Link Here