BOSTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Twenty foreign nationals who work at Logan International Airport in Boston have been charged with lying to obtain badges that gave them access to secure areas of the facility, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The government emphasized, however, that none of those arrested was suspected of any terrorist activity.
"It is important to stress that none of these 20 defendants are suspected or charged with having any terrorist connections," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said at a Logan news conference. "There's no evidence to indicate that any of the charged individuals sought to do anything other than to obtain gainful employment."
The defendants were from seven countries, and 15 were also charged with being in the United States illegally.
Sullivan said the investigation began nine days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which he said "showed us all there was still more that could and should be done to tighten security and ensure the flying public safety."
He said the review that led to the arrests was a "major step in closing potential gaps in security" at the airport, which was the takeoff point for two planes hijacked by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York
The review examined 3,500 applications of people who had been employed by various companies operating at Logan and who were given access badges to secure areas of the airport, including boarding and loading areas and the tarmac, Sullivan said.
"The review resulted in the identification of 20 individuals charged today as having obtained their employment with the use of false information and fraudulent identification documents, including fraudulent alien registration cards and Social Security numbers," Sullivan said.
