Sep 15, 2009 4:27 am US/Eastern
FBI, NYPD Hunting For Al-Qaida In NYC
Queens Residents Witness Joint Terrorist Task Force Blitzkrieg; Rep. King Conveys Seriousness Of Situation
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The hunt is on for terrorists in Queens.
Federal agents walked out of homes with bags and boxes of evidence after raiding several locations on Monday.
The Bureau was in the borough. The FBI responded to terrorism fears with a rapid-fire response.
"Full body armor, bulletproof vests ... two of them are holding machine guns," witness George Pollakis said.
The ripple effects of the operation to find al-Qaida operatives in New York City extended all the way to Capitol Hill.
"This is an ongoing investigation that is being treated very, very seriously by the highest levels of the government," Rep. Peter King said.
Congressman King was one of several senior lawmakers in Washington D.C. in a classified briefing with the FBI on Monday night, following an early morning raid on four apartment homes in Flushing.
"It's not usual to move for a warrant that quickly unless you see a very real potential danger," King said.
A swarm of FBI agents and NYPD detectives, part of the joint terrorist task force, carted away bags and boxes of material.
A federal search warrant mentioning bomb-making components such as powder, gel, TNT, and nitroglycerin were among the items to be seized.
"What occurred over the past several days, as far as the people who met, what they were doing and evidence that was collected is what caused the Joint Terrorism Task Force to move as quickly as they did," King said.
King would not say what they actually discovered, but sources told CBS 2 HD no explosives were found.
Those who were there said the operation was a blitzkrieg at about 2 a.m. Monday at an address on 41st Avenue near 144th Street.
The door to apartment 530 cannot be closed because agents had to ram it open.
CBS 2 HD spoke to one man who lives in one of the apartments raided by agents. He said the feds searched his place thoroughly, going so far as to dismantle a kitchen radiator. He told CBS 2 HD he was not a target of the feds, but apparently his roommates were.
"They looking for some powder ... some different things to make bombs," neighborhood resident Assad Niazi said.
"I don't know [who they are]. They are roommates and go to work in the morning, and at night they come back."
Niazi said the roommates were later released. The building's superintendent, Ramiz Berisha, said those who were questioned are Pakistani.
In all, authorities said Monday night there were no arrests, and that they have not detected a specific plot or target.
"I would characterize this raid as preventative. There was no imminent action that they attempted to stop," King said.
CBS 2 HD's John Slattery contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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