Boston Terror Plot Was False Alarm

[David]

AP


The FBI said Tuesday that the possible terrorist plot reported against Boston by a tipster last week was a false alarm.

"There were in fact no terrorist plans or activity under way," the FBI said in a statement. "Because the criminal investigation is ongoing, no further details can be provided at this time."

The man suspected of telling authorities about the possible terror threat was arrested Monday in a Mexican border town. The FBI statement did not say whether he had provided the information that allowed the FBI to rule out the threat, but the bureau did thank Mexican law enforcement agencies for their help.

The suspect was identified as Jose Ernesto Beltran Quinones, the special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego division, Dan Dzwilewski, told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Officials have stressed since news of the tip first broke that they doubted the credibility of the terror claims. A leading theory was that a smuggler tipped authorities to a false terror plot to exact revenge on a group of Chinese immigrants, perhaps because members failed to pay for being smuggled across the border.

The tipster claimed that members of the group had talked about material supposedly called "nuclear oxide" that would follow them from Mexico to Boston. The implication was that the group was plotting to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" that spews hazardous material and can sicken or kill people.

No evidence was ever found for such a plot. Still, authorities stepped up security in Boston, and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney skipped President Bush's inauguration in Washington.

Over the weekend, the FBI said another person who had been wanted for questioning in relation to the alleged plot had been in federal custody for more than two months and has no terrorist connections. She was identified as Mei Xia Dong, 21, of China.

The other people being sought included 12 other Chinese, two unnamed Iraqis and one Hispanic man who may have been part of the same group of immigrants. But no evidence of terror motives has surfaced, as the tipster claimed.