The failed Times Square car bomb incident has led the FBI to the Northeast sector of the country where agents have executed search warrants, CNN reported, saying cash couriers seemed to be the target. The raids took place in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
By afternoon the Justice Department had confirmed that three people had been arrested.
“Three individuals encountered during the searches were taken into federal custody for alleged immigration violations.” said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd in a statement. “At this time we can provide no further details as the investigation is ongoing. These searches are the product of evidence that has been gathered in the investigation subsequent to the attempted Times Square bombing and do not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States.”
An FBI spokeswoman told AP that there was “no known immediate threat to the public or any active plot against the United States.”
The AP reported that authorities had cordoned off a small house in Watertown, a Boston suburb.
