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| Britain |
| Toner cartridge device at UK airport sparks US security alert |
| 2010-10-29 |
| (KUNA) -- A suspicious package on a cargo flight at a British airport sparked a security alert in at least two United States cities Friday night. Police were called to a freight distribution centre at East Midlands Airport, England, after officials raised concerns during a routine search. Sources in the United States said workers found a toner cartridge which had been manipulated with wires attached to it, and a white powder. Tests for explosives proved negative but concerns about similar devices sparked an alert across the Atlantic. Officials moved two United Parcel Service jets in Philadelphia and a third jet in Newark, New Jersey, away from terminal buildings. In Brooklyn, New York, police were examining a package from a UPS truck after reports that a possible explosive had been found. Mike Mangeot, of Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, said the two planes under investigation in Philadelphia came from Cologne and Gay Paree. A third plane that arrived in Newark, New Jersey, from East Midlands airport was cleared and flew on to UPS' main base in Louisville, Kentucky. Sources said officers from Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command are liaising with colleagues across the Atlantic. A Department for Transport front man said: "There is a police operation ongoing at East Midlands Airport". A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of the incident and it is a matter for the police. The Department for Transport is taking the lead on this". Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command have taken responsibility for the operation from Leicestershire Police. A Met front man said the package at East Midlands Airport was removed from a flight bound for Chicago from Yemen via Philadelphia. He said workers called in police when cargo was removed from the aircraft for a routine search and suspicions were aroused. The front man said: "Following this a number of items have been sent for additional scientific examination". He added: "We can confirm that explosives experts attended the airport. At this stage there is nothing to suggest any location was being targeted in the UK". East Midlands Airport said the package was examined this morning and found not to be suspicious. A cordon was put in place as a precautionary measure, but flights were not affected. A spokeswoman said: "There are police around the cordon, at the cargo end of the airport, but there isn't a big police presence here. "There have been no changes at all to the flight schedules". The airport distribution centre is used by a number of companies, including UPS, Royal Mail and DHL. Officials in the United States told news hounds they are investigating whether the suspicious packages were a dry run for a mail bomb plot. It has been claimed the devices were put together in Yemen and destined for synagogues in Chicago but the security services were tipped off. A spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said: "We are aware of and monitoring reports of potentially suspicious items onboard cargo flights that landed safely at Newark Liberty and Philadelphia International airports. "Out of an abundance of caution the planes were moved to a remote location where they are being met by law enforcement officials and swept". Earlier this year, the United States and Britain temporarily closed embassies in the Yemeni capital Sanaa over fears of a terrorist attack. A Yemen-based offshoot of al Qaeda was suspected of being behind the alleged Christmas Day bomb attempt on a jet flying to Detroit. Officials in the United States said a second suspicious package, also originating from Yemen, has also been found in Dubai. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... an employee who worked in one of the buildings at East Midlands Airport praised the police operation. Writing on the Derby Telegraph website he said: "I work in one of the buildings. Nothing has been confirmed. Apparently a bomb was found about 10am after the first one from early hours was deemed safe." "DHL, Royal Mail and UPS were evacuated straight away to the Travelodge. Other buildings where evacuated after 1pm. "The police are doing a brilliant job of keeping everybody safe. No-one is allowed down the roads," he added. In a related development, Jewish organisations and synagogues in the UK said they were already on high alert and would remain so. A front man for the Community Security Trust (CST), which deals with security in Jewish buildings, said: "The Jewish community in Britain has been on a high state of security alert for some considerable time now, precisely because of the current threat levels. "This specific alert today, plus the recent alerts over the last month or so is the reason why we've been on significant security alert for some while. "The CST is in constant contact with local police about security threats," he added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 hmmm - even remote Border Patrol checkpoints here in San Diego East County have rad detectors. My lab tech came out with his nuke gauge to do soil compaction tests for a reservoir lake flume/pipeline bridge I'm building, and on the way back, spent two hours getting vetted after their on-belt-detectors went off. Didn't help that he was a naturalized citizen, and when they asked where he was born, he said Tijuana (he's a good guy - I felt bad for him) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-10-29 22:28 |
| #1 Meanwhile, overseas, "U.S. Nuclear-Bomb Detector Ignored by Truckers Leaves Shipping Vulnerable" Two years after South KoreaÂ’s busiest port installed a $3.5 million scanner to check U.S.- bound shipping containers for nuclear weapons, the machine sits idle because truckers wonÂ’t drive through it due to fears of radiation exposure. That means about 1.9 million containers left Busan for American harbors last year without U.S.-mandated screening. Singapore and Hong Kong, the worldÂ’s busiest and third-busiest ports, also donÂ’t participate. Nine years after the Sept. 11 attacks, less than 1 percent of the 14.5 million cargo boxes reaching U.S. shores are scanned abroad, the government said. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-10-29 21:51 |