British police go to Venezuela for terrorism probe

www.alertnet.org 18 Feb 2003 19:42

By Patrick Markey

CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb 18 (Reuters) - British anti-terrorist police traveled to Caracas on Tuesday to piece together the life of a Venezuelan man who allegedly flew from the South American country to London's Gatwick airport with a live hand grenade in his luggage.

Three officers from the Metropolitan Police were scheduled to arrive in the Venezuelan capital as part of their investigation into Hasil Mohammed Rahaham-Alan, 37, who was arrested last week after stepping off a British Airways flight from Caracas, sources close to the investigation said.

Tight-lipped Venezuelan immigration authorities say Rahaham-Alan was carrying a false domestic identification card and they could not confirm his identity.

"It's the same name, but we are not sure we are talking about the same person. We're not sure if he is a Venezuelan or not," said Alfredo Gil Romero, director of the immigration control agency.

Reuters visited the two-story green-and-white home, where Rahaham-Alan told a London courtroom he had lived. Neighbors said that a family named Rahaham had lived for more than a decade in the house, perched along a sun-scorched hillside overlooking the eastern part of Caracas.

Interpol police on Friday visited the home, which had been unoccupied for nearly a month, local residents said.

"I was surprised to hear this," said one neighbor, who asked not to be named. "They are really decent, professional people. I used to call the mother 'grandma' and she would invite me in for tea and coffee."

The elderly mother and her four children were not believed to be native Venezuelans, but residents of this middle-class neighborhood said they didn't know where the family had come from. Two sons and a daughter lived outside Caracas, but the third son had not visited the home for about three years, they said.

TERRORIST CHARGES

Rahaham-Alan appeared in a London court on Monday where he was charged with "possession of an article for the purpose of committing a terrorist act" and "possession of an explosive substance with intent to endanger life or damage property".

He is also charged with carrying a dangerous article on a British-registered plane. He has been remanded in custody and will appear at the London's Old Bailey court on Feb. 24.

U.S. officials last year said they were concerned that extremist Islamic groups were receiving financial backing from Middle Eastern expatriate communities on Venezuela's Margarita Island, a popular Caribbean tourist haven.

The mainland shares a rugged, porous border with Colombia and has long been a conduit for drugs and counterfeit goods to and from other South American countries. Venezuelan government officials admit their troubled immigration controls need an urgent overhaul.

Rahaham-Alan, bearded with long dark hair, arrived at Gatwick last Thursday on a British Airways flight which officials said started in Bogota, Colombia and made stops in Caracas and Barbados before heading to London.

He was arrested after police allegedly discovered the grenade in his bags. Police, already on high alert due to threats of an attack, were forced to evacuate the airport's north terminal, delaying or canceling scores of flights.

British officials also want to determine how a hand grenade got through Caracas airport security. Sources said that the grenade was carried in a metal box that helped mask it from X-ray equipment.