Feds on Trail of 4th Alleged N.Y. Plotter
Authorites hold three in alleged plot to blow up jet fuel line at N.Y. airport.
June 3, 2007 — -- Authorities continue to search for a man they consider the fourth suspect in a terror plot to blow up a jet fuel line at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
But they may be close to finding the wanted man, Abdel Nur, said Mark Mershon, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office, in an interview with ABC News' "Good Morning America Weekend Edition."
"I believe Nur is still in Trinidad," Mershon said. "I hope we have an arrest this weekend."
Of the three other men charged, two remain custody in Trinidad.
Another man, Russell Defreitas, was arraigned in Brooklyn, N.Y., Saturday. He is a U.S. citizen, a native of Guyana and a former cargo worker at the airport.
Officials said Defreitas was secretly taped by the FBI saying, "To hit John F. Kennedy, wow ... If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning. It's like you can kill the man twice."
John Miller, the FBI's assistant director of public affairs, told ABC News' "This Week" it did not appear the plotters had a direct connection to al Qaeda.
"I think al Qaeda is operating on a split plane," he said, explaining that it continues to put out propaganda to incite others, while still planning its next big attack.
"When you're looking at inspired through the internet, homegrown extremists, well they can pop up anywhere," Miller said.
He added that the primary concern of the investigation was to get all the information authorities needed to know before taking down the case. The agency investigated for a year.
Mershon that although authorities do not believe the alleged plotters were affiliated with al Qaeda, the men wanted to have ties with the larger terrorist group.
"We believe the group reached out and desired an affiliation," Mershon said.
He added that despite the fact that another alleged plotter is a former member of parliament in Guyana, the FBI has "no indication" that the government or other members of parliament in Guyana were involved in the JFK plot.
Addressing concerns about Defreitas' employment JFK, Mershon said when Defreitas was hired years ago "screening procedures probably were not what they are now."
"We always hope that the screening will improve," Mershon said, "but that is not the job of the FBI, frankly."
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