Dutch authorities question 2 men arrested at request of US at Amsterdam’s airport

Dutch question 2 men in suspected US terror probe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch investigators on Tuesday questioned two men arrested at Amsterdam’s airport after U.S. authorities found suspicious items in their checked luggage, including a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle and a knife and box cutter.

The pair were arrested Monday morning at Schiphol Airport after getting off a United Airlines flight from Chicago, where their decision to change their flight plans raised flags in the U.S., officials said.

They were being held at the airport for questioning, but neither has been charged with any offense in the Netherlands, said Martijn Boelhouwer, the national prosecutor’s office spokesman.

Edmond Messchaert, a spokesman for the Dutch National Coordinator for Counterterrorism, said his agency was aware of the case but would not comment further.

Dutch authorities do not release the names of suspects in criminal investigations and Boelhouwer would not confirm their nationalities. He also declined to say if U.S. authorities had requested their extradition.

But a U.S. law enforcement official identified the men as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi and Hezam al Murisi.

Al Soofi had a Michigan address, the official said, but it was not immediately clear where the two men were from. Another law enforcement official said the men had not been charged with anything in the United States. The U.S. law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation and sensitive security issues.

Al Soofi was questioned as he went through security in Alabama on his way to Chicago, one of the officials said. He told the Transportation Security Administration authorities he was carrying a lot of cash. Screeners found $7,000 on him, but he was not breaking any law by carrying that much money.

Officials also found multiple cell phones taped together and multiple watches taped together in his checked baggage.

Al Soofi was supposed to fly from Chicago to Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia and then on to Amsterdam, the official said. But when he got to Chicago, he changed his travel plans to take a direct flight to Amsterdam.

Al Murisi also changed his travel plans in Chicago to take a direct flight to Amsterdam, raising suspicion among U.S. officials. Federal Air marshals were on the flight from Chicago to Amsterdam, a law enforcement official said.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said once officials found suspicious items in luggage associated with two passengers on Sunday night’s flight, they notified the Dutch authorities.

“The items were not deemed to be dangerous in and of themselves,” Kudwa said. She would not identify the passengers.

It is not illegal to carry knives or taped cell phones and watches in checked baggage.

Security at Amsterdam has been boosted this year, after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student, flew from the airport to Detroit on Christmas Day with explosives in his underwear. Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate the explosives over the United States before being grabbed by passengers and crew.

After the Abdulmutallab security lapse, Schiphol ordered 60 new full body scanners to screen passengers flying to the United States. Those who do not pass through the scanners are patted down.

American passengers arriving from the United States on Tuesday appeared to take the news of the arrests in stride.

“There is always going to be problems but I think that the system in terms of security works pretty well. I am traveling all the time and I feel pretty safe,” Steve Harriot of Chicago told AP Television News.

“I think we have to be vigilant, all of us. It is not going to change my travel,” Francois Binette of San Francisco said.

Associated Press writers Eileen Sullivan in Washington, D.C., and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.