[Excerpt: "Sources say one of the men, Ahmed Mohammed Nasser al Soofi, had $7,000 in cash and what looked like mock explosive devices in 2 checked bags, seven cell phones - some of them we're told were taped to empty bottles - and watches taped to shampoo bottles."]
CBS News
August 31, 2010
by Bob Orr
Two Men on a United Airlines flight from Chicago were detained today when the plane arrived in the Netherlands.
U.S. officials say luggage belonging to one of the men contained what appeared to be mock bombs - and they may have been testing the security system.
CBS News Justice correspondent Bob Orr reports U.S. officials are still trying to figure out whether or not this is a real threat. But, it is suspicious. Two men who flew from Chicago to Amsterdam have now been arrested the Netherlands.
Sources say one of the men, Ahmed Mohammed Nasser al Soofi, had $7,000 in cash and what looked like mock explosive devices in 2 checked bags, seven cell phones - some of them we're told were taped to empty bottles - and watches taped to shampoo bottles.
The bags carrying those suspicious items did not go with the man on the flight to Amsterdam. Instead, the bags went to Dulles Airport near Washington - where they were confiscated by U.S. authorities. Officials say al Soofi, who originally was heading through Dulles to Yemen had changed his itinerary to the Amsterdam flight.
While two men have been arrested, authorities now say they are not linked to one another. The investigation is focused solely on al Soofi.
Investigators say this does not appear to be connected to any terror threat -but authorities do want to know if al Soofi was testing security.
These were amateurish-like mock devices - the very kind of thing that security is designed to find. And in fact, TSA did find them on a flight from Birmingham to Chicago and deemed them benign. That's why they were allowed to go to Chicago and then on.
The question really is, how did they get on a plane to Washington when he wasn't on the plane too.
