Man may have terrorist ties, agents say

10:59 AM EDT on Wednesday, August 11, 2004

By AMY LEHTONEN / WCNC.com

6NEWS Kamran Akhtar is escorted into federal court in Charlotte Tuesday morning.

A Pakistani man who was taken into custody for taking video of the Bank of America building and others in Charlotte faces a detention hearing on Friday. But it's still not clear if authorities consider him a terror suspect. Federal authorities told 6NEWS Kamran Akhtar may have terrorist ties, but at this time they are still trying to figure out who he is.

Agents are analyzing Ahktar's fingerprints, his family has been given lie detector tests, and he will be in jail for a long time since he is not supposed to in the country. Federal investigators are trying to determine whether he was acting as a terrorist or tourist.

Akhtar was arrested by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer July 20 while videotaping the downtown area of Charlotte.

Officer Danny Maglione said he witnessed Akhtar at the intersection of Stonewall and Tryon around noon.

“I observed a gentleman taking videos of the skyline. Once I slowed down to take a closer look at him, he started to act a little irrational,” Maglione said. “He turned away from me, tried to become evasive. I stopped my vehicle and that’s when I got out and addressed him.”

Maglione said he asked Akhtar what he was doing and he stated several different things.

“His statements were all over the place…from taking video for his brother to just visiting,” Maglione said.

Maglione said his curiosity was peaked when Akhtar said he had to hurry to get to the bus station, but then started walking the opposite way. Maglione said Akhtar voluntarily went with him to police headquarters.

According to an affidavit, a review of Akhtar’s videotape showed the downtown area of Charlotte including the Bank of America and the building Wachovia Bank once leased. The local FBI office also is located in the building.

In a statement, Bank of America said it "continues to conduct business as usual.

"All necessary security measures are being taken and our company continues to work closely with appropriate national and local authorities to monitor this situation."

Wachovia said in a statement that it was assessing the information about the videotape. The bank also said that it has "robust security procedures in place and have taken measures to enhance security at all of our facilities over the last several years.

Federal officials say Akhtar also had other videotapes of buildings in other major cities such as Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans. It it not known at this time what Akhtar planned to do with the video.

Akhtar was arrested and is being held on minor immigration violations.

"I feel good that I had stopped this and maybe did a little something for the security of the United States, but law enforcement all over the United States is doing the same thing: being vigilant," Maglione said.

Akhtar is being held on minor immigration violations. Akhtar is a Pakistani national. According to the complaint against him, he used an alias to get into this country.

Akhtar's arrest within a mile of two of Charlotte's biggest financial institutions came on July 20, just 12 days before the Department of Homeland Security issued specific warnings and raised the terror alert level for financial institutions in New York, Newark, New Jersey and Washington, DC.

The day after the alert level was elevated Charlotte business leaders and the police department said there were no specific threats to the Charlotte region, but they were being extra vigilant.

August 6 it was reported that the Bank of America building in SanFrancisco was among the targets discussed in al-Qaeda papers that prompted the original alert.

Monday, the FBI discussed the possibility that helicopters and limousines could also be used by al-Qaeda terrorists.

Akhtar made a court appearance at the federal courthouse in Charlotte Tuesday morning. He asked for a court appointed attorney, but he had to admit that in the last month he has moved over $100,000 in cash to his wife and children. Upon hearing that, the magistrate denied his request for an attorney.

“This investigation is still in full force with local and federal authorities,” said Keith Bridges, spokesperson for Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

During a news conference Tuesday morning, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory asked that citizens of Charlotte continue with their everyday lives, but report any suspicious activity such as:

• Packages left unattended

• Unattended vehicles parked next to buildings, especially vehicles parked in no parking zones

• People videotaping that may be outside general tourist attractions

• People wearing dress or outerwear that is out of the ordinary such as multiple layers of clothing on hot summer days

”Our focus is trying to reassure citizens of Charlotte that because this individual was arrested here that we are taking the steps that are necessary to provide the best protection that we possibly can for our community,” said Chief Darrel Stephens, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

According to official court documents, Akhtar is a resident of Elmhurst, New York. A law enforcement source there said Akhtar is a video buff with no links to terrorism. But, the source said Ahktar is a possible suspect in other crimes besides immigration violations, but refused to elaborate.

Stephens said they are not sure where Akhtar was staying in Charlotte, "but he didn’t have a local address." Federal officials said Akhtar had been traveling cross country on a Greyhound bus.

Stephens said Akhtar had been in custody since July 20, but they did not release any details on the arrest because they were trying to determine if Akhtar was a tourist.

One federal official said there's additional information they know about that did not make it into this criminal complaint that raises additional concerns. But, he declined to talk about them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.