Hazmat trucks a terrorist target?

Sept. 26, 2001
Twenty people have been charged with fraudulently obtaining hazmat-endorsed CDLs, according to a report this morning by The Washington Post. Several of those arrested may have links to the terrorists deemed responsible for the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. Only last Thursday, the FBI arrested a “close associate” of Osama bin Laden, Nabil al Marabh, who holds a hazmat-endorsed
Twenty people have been charged with fraudulently obtaining hazmat-endorsed CDLs, according to a report this morning byThe Washington Post. Several of those arrested may have links to the terrorists deemed responsible for the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington D.C.

Only last Thursday, the FBI arrested a “close associate” of Osama bin Laden, Nabil al Marabh, who holds a hazmat-endorsed CDL from Michigan.

The new charges give weight to the idea there may be a terrorist threat not only from the skies but on the nation’s roads. The Post reported that both the FBI and the Department of Transportation have warned truckers to be on guard for suspicious activity around hazardous materials, including chemicals, radioactive waste and other substances that can be turned into weapons of mass destruction.

The paper also said the FBI has asked mosquito-control outfits to immediately inventory their trucks and other equipment and to report anything missing.

While the FBI has urged trucking to keep a watch on hazardous materials, it has not issued any specific guidelines or discussed what might best be done to thwart hijackers of such shipments.

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