Emerging Threats

New York City Patrolled By Unmarked Helicopter ‘23′

Posted: 24 May 2008 02:29 AM CDT


On a cloudless spring day, the NYPD helicopter soars over the city, its sights set on the Statue of Liberty.

A dramatic close-up of Lady Liberty’s frozen gaze fills one of three flat-screen computer monitors mounted on a console. Hundreds of sightseers below are oblivious to the fact that a helicopter is peering down on them from a mile and a half away.

“They don’t even know we’re here,” said crew chief John Diaz, speaking into a headset over the din of the aircraft’s engine.

The helicopter’s unmarked paint job belies what’s inside: an arsenal of sophisticated surveillance and tracking equipment powerful enough to read license plates—or scan pedestrians’ faces—from high above the nation’s largest metropolis.

Police say the chopper’s sweeps of landmarks and other potential targets are invaluable in helping guard against another terrorist attack, providing a see-but-avoid-being-seen advantage against bad guys.

“It looks like just another helicopter in the sky,” said Assistant Police Chief Charles Kammerdener, who oversees the department’s aviation unit.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said that no other U.S. law enforcement agency “has anything that comes close” to the surveillance chopper, which was designed by engineers at Bell Helicopter and computer technicians based on NYPD specifications.

The chopper is named simply “23″—for the number of police officers killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The $10 million helicopter is just part of the department’s efforts to adopt cutting-edge technology for its counterterrorism operations.

The NYPD also plans to spend tens of millions of dollars strengthening security in the lower Manhattan business district with a network of closed-circuit television cameras and license-plate readers posted at bridges, tunnels and other entry points.

Police have also deployed hundreds of radiation monitors—some worn on belts like pagers, others mounted on cars and in helicopters—to detect dirty bombs.

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Fire Guts 3 Tour Buses And Damages Hilton Hotel - Washington D.C.

Posted: 24 May 2008 02:02 AM CDT

Three tour buses parked under a hotel breezeway near Reagan National Airport caught fire early yesterday, sending heavy smoke into the building and forcing the temporary evacuation of about 150 hotel guests, officials said.

No one was injured.

The blaze, which gutted the three buses, was reported about 2:30 a.m. at the Hilton Crystal City, 2399 Jefferson Davis Hwy., said Battalion Chief Carol Saulnier of the Arlington County Fire Department. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million.

The guests remained outside for about an hour while firefighters inspected portions of the 386-room hotel to make sure the fire had not spread, said Ben Thompson, general manager.

“Our first concern is always just guest safety,” Thompson said. “And all the guests were fine. Everybody was safe. Nobody was hurt.”

Thompson said the buses were for tour groups staying at the hotel.

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Glasgow Airport Terminal Evacuated After Suspicious Package Is Discovered

Posted: 24 May 2008 02:01 AM CDT

Glasgow Airport was partially evacuated late last night after the discovery of a “suspicious package”.

A handful of passengers and several staff were ordered to leave the east and domestic pier sections of the main terminal building after the package was discovered at 11pm.

Donald Morrison, head of media affairs with BAA Scotland, which owns and operates the airport, said the matter had been referred to Strathclyde Police who were carrying out an investigation of the area.
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A force spokesman said a police search adviser had been sent to the scene in acordance with routine procedure when a suspicious package is found at the airport. He said it was likely that a bomb disposal team would also be sent from either Coulport, Faslane or Edinburgh Castle.

Mr Morrison said: “There has been a partial evacuation of the main terminal building following the discovery of an unattended package Only a handful of passengers were at the airport at the time.”

Mr Morrison said flights were continuing to arrive and depart at the airport.

Last night’s discovery came almost a year after the airport came under attack when a car exploded in flames as it was rammed into the front of the main terminal building.

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9 Year Old Discovers Gun Stashed At Lambert Field Airport

Posted: 24 May 2008 02:01 AM CDT

The Saturday before Mother’s Day a Lincoln County family was at Lambert to see relatives off when according to her parents, a 9-year-old girl, while smelling flowers saw a purple rag in the bushes.

Beneath the rag the girl found a handgun and an envelope full of bullets. “It was definitely the last thing I would expect a nine year old to find at an airport,” says the girl’s soon-to-be step-father Charles, who didn’t want to be identified.

According to police reports a passenger tried to bring the gun through security and was stopped and was told what most people already know: guns aren’t allowed to be carried on a plane let alone inside the building. “Especially after 911,” says Charles, “why would anyone try and get through airport security with a weapon.”

The man was cited by TSA but allowed to continue his trip but without his gun. The gun’s owner, according to the complaint, was dropped off at the airport so he didn’t have a car to leave it in and instead of checking the gun he allegedly decided to stash it. “I don’t know why he brought it in the first place he should have just left it at home,” says Charles.

When the suspect returned to retrieve his gun on Mother’s Day he found only the rag and ammo in the bushes. Police had the gun with them and had the suspect under surveillance.

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Truck With Nine Tons of Gelatine Explosives Was Stolen - India

Posted: 24 May 2008 02:01 AM CDT

An unclaimed truck loaded with about nine tonnes of gelatine explosives, which was seized here, was stolen in Chhattisgarh while going from Jharkhand to Maharashtra, the police said yesterday.

The recovery has sent the police into a tizzy. They have started a probe on whether the explosives in the truck, parked on the outskirts of Raipur, were meant for Maoist insurgents who are active in the state.

The truck was found abandoned on Thursday, a few metres from the national highway that connects the Chhattisgarh capital to the industrial cities of Bhilai and Nagpur. “We can’t imagine that an unclaimed truck loaded with gelatine explosives boxes could be found in Raipur. These were kept in wooden boxes,” Lal Umed Singh, city superintendent of police, told IANS.

He said: “A probe is on and we can’t rule out possibility that the explosives were brought here either for terrorism purposes in Raipur or for supplying to Maoists who are very active in the state’s southern Bastar region.”

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Fourth Severed Human Foot Found On B.C. Coast - British Columbia

Posted: 24 May 2008 01:34 AM CDT

For the fourth time in less than a year, a right human foot has been found off one of four different islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia.

Police said Friday that they do not know if there are any links among the feet. Speculation in the region is rife, including that the feet were from slaying victims or they were the remains from a plane crash. Police have not reached any conclusions.

Police said a passer-by found a human foot in a shoe on Kirkland Island in the South Arm of the Fraser River on Thursday.

“It’s certainly a mystery we intend on solving,” Police Constable Annie Linteau said. “It’s certainly very unusual.”

Last August, a foot was found inside a man’s Reebok sneaker on nearby Gabriola Island, just a few days after another foot was discovered by beachcombers on Jedidiah Island.

The remains of a fourth right foot were found on the east side of Valdez Island on Feb 8.

There is no evidence to suggest the foot - or any or the previous three- was forcibly removed, Linteau said.

“All four were wearing socks and were in a running shoe,” Linteau said.

Two of the feet are size 12. Police have not released the size of the others.

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