Miscommunication cited in port alert

MIAMI - Three legal immigrants in a cargo truck were detained at the Port of Miami on Sunday after a routine inspection raised concerns, but police say the incident may have stemmed in part from a language barrier

The port's cargo area was shut down Sunday as the Miami-Dade bomb squad X-rayed the truck and scanned it for radioactive materials. Nothing unusual was found, officials said.

The men in the truck — two Iraqis and one Lebanese national — were still detained by local police Sunday evening, but authorities said no federal charges were expected. Officials initially said the men, all permanent U.S. residents, had been caught trying to slip past a checkpoint at the port's entrance.

A port security officer became suspicious when the truck driver could not produce proper paperwork in a routine inspection to enter the port about 8 a.m., Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Nancy Goldberg said.

The driver also indicated he was alone in the truck, though security officers found two other men in the cab, she said. The two passengers, ages 28 and 29, were a friend and a relative of the 20-year-old Iraqi driver, she said.

"Due to a miscommunication between the gate security personnel and the truck driver, we believe there was a discrepancy in the number of people in the vehicle attempting to enter the Port of Miami," Goldberg said. "This, and the fact that one of the individuals did not have any form of ID, raised our level of concern."

"Maybe it could have been a language barrier; we don't know at this point," she said.

The truck's contents — electrical automotive parts in a 40-foot container — matched the driver's cargo manifest, Goldberg said.

The port's cargo area was shut down Sunday as the Miami-Dade bomb squad moved the truck away from public areas of the port to X-ray and scan it for radioactive materials.

More than 20 pallets containing spools of wire and other automotive parts taken from the truck were still being scanned, but no radioactive material had been found, said Jose Ramirez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

The three men remained in local police custody for questioning, Goldberg said, but had not been arrested or charged by Sunday evening.

The men do not appear on any terrorist watch list, said Barbara Gonzalez, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.

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The Port of Miami is among the nation's busiest. More than 3.6 million cruise ship passengers traveled through in 2005. Its seaport services more than 30 ocean carriers, which delivered more than 1 million cargo containers there in 2005.

Passengers in the normally busy cruise ship area of the port were unaware of the official bustle in the cargo area. When told of the situation, some said they thought it probably made boarding lines longer. But officials said Sunday's long lines were normal.

"I feel freaked out," said Connecticut resident Allie Tetreault, 23, who was waiting to board a Caribbean cruise when she heard about the security alert. "That's not good to hear right before you are going on vacation."

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Associated Press writer Phil Davis in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this report

Security high at Port of Miami after alleged entry attempt

1/7/2007

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Security at the Port of Miami was tightened Sunday after three people, two of them hidden inside a truck, allegedly tried to enter the port illegally, federal law enforcement sources said.

The FBI said the three were being held on state charges.

"The cargo area is closed for now while the FBI, Miami-Dade police, and Customs and Border Patrol search the truck container," said Port of Miami spokeswoman Andrea Muniz. "The port side handling passengers remains open."

Sunday is typically a busy day for cruise ships at the port.

Though the port as a whole remains open, cargo is not leaving the port while additional container searches are under way, a spokesman for the Coast Guard said.

Federal law enforcement sources described the three as being of Middle-Eastern descent. The driver was described as being of Iraqi descent and one of the other men appeared to be of Lebanese descent, the sources said.

One of them was driving an 18-wheeler and was stopped at the entrance for not having the proper license to drive onto the property, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela told CNN.

Miami-Dade police conducted a secondary search after the driver gave inconsistent answers, the FBI said. The driver also allegedly said he was alone in the truck. During the search, two other people were found in the cargo container, the FBI said.

No federal charges are pending, according to the FBI. Authorities did not know whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering charges or whether the three are in the United States legally.