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WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The State Department said Monday it has no visa record of five men FBI seeks for a possible connection to a terrorist cell.
They are believed to have entered the country illegally, possibly from Canada, on Christmas Eve.
"We have checked visa records. There is no record of any of the five individuals identified by the FBI as ever having applied for a U.S. visa," State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker told a briefing in Washington.
The State Department has tightened up its visa policies after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. The department now has a database, called the TIPOFF, where it receives information directly from intelligence and law enforcement to prevent suspected terrorists from entering the country.
On Sunday, FBI released photographs of five men who, it said, had entered the United States illegally. Later, a White House spokesman said the FBI learned their names during an anti-terrorism investigation but said authorities were not yet certain whether they were linked to a terrorist cell.
The FBI identified them as Abid Noraiz Ali, 25, Iftikhar Khozaimi Ali, 21, Mustafa Khan Owasi, 33, Adil Pervez, 19, and Akbar Jamal, 28.
Although the agency identified all as men of Arab-origin, some of these are not Arab names. Names like Khan, Noraiz, Khozaimi and Pervez are more popular in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
But these may not be the real names of the suspects, as they are believed to be traveling on fake or stolen passports.
FBI says that their names came up repeatedly in domestic and overseas investigations. They might have information that may be useful in combating terrorism, the agency said.
It is believed that the suspects entered the United States using fake passports, purchased from smugglers in the Middle East.
U.S. intelligence agencies are currently conducting an investigation into the worldwide smuggling of illegal immigrants on fake or stolen passports.
Officials at the U.S. Customs Service said they have stepped up their vigilance along the U.S.-Canada border following the FBI announcement.
"The individuals ... are believed to have entered the United States illegally on or about December 24, 2002. Although the FBI has no specific information that they are connected to any potential terrorist activities, based upon information developed in the course of on-going investigations, the FBI would like to locate and question these persons," says an announcement placed on the agency's Web site.
"Please review the press release and the Seeking Information poster about these individuals. The FBI asks that anyone with information about them contact their nearest FBI office."
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