http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/10/29/suspicious-package-on-plane-headed-to-chicago/
CHICAGO (CBS) - Authorities stopped two cargo planes with suspicious packages onboard, after learning the items were being sent from Yemen to synagogues in Chicago. Federal officials say two packages from Yemen were found on planes that were rigged in some way. One was a UPS plane stopped in the U.K. The other was a FedEx plane stopped in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A U.S. official told CBS News both planes were searched in response to a specific warning that they were carrying suspicious packages addressed to synagogues or Jewish centers in Chicago. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago was notified of the situation at 10:30 a.m. Friday, and officials there are “taking proper precautions,” said associate vice president Linda Haase. The organization is also advising local synagogues to take precautions, Haase said. A law enforcement source tells CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine the word is out to synagogues in Chicago not to accept UPS packages from east of New York. The are asked to call Chicago Police if any delivery is attempted. FBI spokesman Ross Rice added that while there are no identifiable or specific threats to the Chicago area, all churches, synagogues and mosques in the area are being warned to be vigilant for unsolicited or unexpected packages, especially those originating from overseas locations. Authorities say the UPS plane was headed to Chicago from Yemen, and had on-board an ink toner cartridge that looked like it had been converted into a bomb (pictured above). The plane was stopped in the the U.K. Thursday night, CNN reported. U.K. officials discovered that the toner cartridge had been manipulated and found wires attached to it and white powder. Tests on the device came back negative for explosives, according to a law enforcement official who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. The UPS plane was held at East Midlands Airport, near Nottingham, England. Police and emergency workers examined the package and lifted the security cordon by mid-morning, but Leicestershire Constabulary later said officers were re-examining it “as a precaution.” Sarah Furbank, a passenger who was about to board a plane out of East Midlands Airport, said that she had noticed an increased security presence. There were “quite a few police cars round the edge” of the airport, Furbank told The Associated Press. “Apparently there was an incident earlier according to staff but they didn’t go into detail.” Additional information is not known about the FedEx plane in Dubai. President Barack Obama was notified of the potential terrorist threat Thursday evening, and “directed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security, to take steps to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and to determine whether these threats are a part of any additional terrorist plotting,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. “The president has received regular updates from his national security team since he was alerted to the threat.” Other cargo planes around the U.S. and the world were also searched as a precaution because they carried packages originating in Yemen. Specifically, law enforcement officials packages on two cargo planes in Philadelphia and one in Newark, N.J. One of the flights to Philadelphia was coming in from Paris. The other from Cologne, Germany, and was scheduled to go on to Louisville, Ky. Police also stopped a UPS truck with a package on New York’s Queensboro Bridge into downtown Manhattan. Some experts said the incident might have been a dry run to test security on cargo planes. ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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