Miscommunication sets off suspicion at a Miami cargo gate

January 08, 2007|Kelli Kennedy, Associated Press

MIAMI -- A miscommunication led officials to detain three men at the Port of Miami yesterday after authorities became suspicious of their documentation and the contents of their cargo truck, officials said.

Authorities initially said the men -- two Iraqis and one Lebanese national who are legal permanent US residents -- had been caught trying to slip past a checkpoint at the port's entrance.

A port security officer became suspicious when the truck driver could not produce proper paperwork in a routine inspection to enter the port about 8 a.m.

The driver also indicated he was alone in the truck, though security officers found two other men in the cab, said Nancy Goldberg of the Miami-Dade police.

"Maybe it could have been a language barrier. We don't know at this point," she said.

The three men were taken into police custody for questioning, but were not charged.

The truck's contents -- electrical automotive parts in a 40-foot container -- matched the driver's cargo manifest, Goldberg said.

The port's cargo area was shut down yesterday as the Miami-Dade bomb squad moved the truck away from public areas at the port to X-ray and scan it for radioactive materials.

More than 20 pallets containing spools of wire and automotive parts were scanned, but no radioactive material was found, said Jose Ramirez, a US Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were called to the scene, along with federal and local law enforcement officials, as a precaution, Goldberg said.

The Port of Miami is among the nation's busiest.