Since Sept. 11, 2001, the FBI’s number one focus has been terrorism. But the shift in resources has not come with sacrifice. It’s meant less time focusing on some white collar and violent crimes. And domestically, it means chasing a lot of false leads.
By ERIC SCHMITT
New York Times
NORWALK, Calif. – The report last month was chilling: a 55-gallon drum of radioactive material had gone missing during shipment from North Carolina to California. Even worse, the person who signed for the cargo was not an employee of the company that ordered the load.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation here ramped up, consulting health officials, questioning radiation specialists and tracking down the trucker who dropped off the material, which could be used in a radioactive-bomb attack.
Three hours later, the shipper found the drum – still sitting on a loading dock 20 miles from its destination in the Los Angeles area – having confused it with a similar shipment sent to a different company on the same day.
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