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‘Be vigilant for potential terror acts’
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Posted on Aug 16 2011
Special agent Joe Auther of the Federal Bureau of Investigation called on the community to be vigilant for any activities that may lead to terrorism acts on island.
Speaking at the Rotary Club of Saipan meeting yesterday, Auther noted that the FBI is not aware of any terrorist groups operating on Saipan. “[But] it’s something that obviously we have to always be very vigilant for, part of 9/11 [precaution],” he said.
According to Auther, suspicious acts such as the purchase of an unwarranted amount of or stocking up on fertilizer (which contains ammonium nitrate), fuel oil or hydrogen peroxide of people who do not normally buy them is something that the FBI needs to know about since these are components in making bombs, which he said is often the weapon of choice.
Auther also noted that the CNMI is in close proximity to the southern region of the Philippines, which is home to terrorist organizations such as Jemaah Islamiyah.
He said the U.S. military is very aggressive in helping the Philippine military defeat these terrorist groups.
“It wouldn’t be too far of a reach, I suppose, to think that elements of that organization or organizations could make it to Saipan… I’m certainly in no position to say that there is no threat. However, we’re not aware of anything right now,” said Auther.
While the FBI is doing more counterintelligence and counterterrorism efforts, Auther said the bureau has had successful prosecutions on cases on human trafficking, public corruption, and bank fraud.
