Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Reports say that authorities in Brisbane, Australia have arrested an individual connected with the failed Glasgow and London bombings in the United Kingdom on June 29 and June 30. Australian media reports that the man was arrested at Brisbane International Airport yesterday at 11:00 p.m. AEST (UTC+10).
The man has since be named as Mohammed Haneef and Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says that Haneef is cooperating with authorities and has not been charged with any crime as of yet.
Police in the U.K. confirm that the arrest has been made saying, “he remains in custody.”
“Yes there was an arrest last night but I will stress at no stage was there any threat to the Brisbane Airport,” said Jim Carden, a spokesman for the airport.
Mohammed Haneef is being described as a 27 year-old male who is a qualified medical doctor and reports say that he was leaving the airport and had a one-way ticket to Pakistan.
Haneef is employed at the Gold Coast Hospital in Queensland. Haneef is not an Australian citizen. It is reported that Haneef is from India.
A total of eight suspects have been arrested, six of which are doctors or studying to be doctors.
The terror threat level in the UK remains critical, indicating that an attack could be expected imminently and high security is in evidence on mass transport routes, while the police continue their investigations.
Earlier this morning, a controlled explosion took place on a suspicious package discovered outside Hammersmith Station on the London Underground system. The scare led to the closure of Hammersmith and Barons Court stations for one hour.
Two other stations, Tower Hill and East Ham, were closed in similar circumstances. All four stations have now been reopened.