posted on Mar, 18 2004 @ 07:00 PM
UPDATE:FBI Investigates Suspicious Activity At Marcus Hook Refinery
Men In Custody Are Of Middle Eastern Descent
POSTED: 5:58 p.m. EST March 19, 2003
UPDATED: 6:28 p.m. EST March 19, 2003
MARCUS HOOK, Pa. -- Extra security in the war on terror may have paid off in Delaware County -- police Wednesday arrested two people outside a
refinery in Marcus Hook for what they are calling "suspicious activity."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is checking into why two men were observed at the refinery late Tuesday night, driving slowly near the propane and
jet fuel tanks and ducking from police.
Local News station was told that the two men were of Middle Eastern descent and that they gave different stories to the police, so the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services took them into custody.
The driver said he was from Jordan and the bureau said he was not supposed to be in the Marcus Hook area. He is in the United States on a visa.
The other man is a U.S. citizen, but was apparently from Yemen.
Sources said that police found chemistry books, books written in Arabic and religious tapes in the car. A white powder was discovered in the trunk of
the car and the FBI is testing it to find out what it is.
Sources say the driver had with him a life insurance policy of a significant amount.
Police would only say that, at this point, they have had a number of incidents in the area of the refinery since 9/11.
The city has taken extreme measures, though, to keep its 3,000 residents safe.
"We got together with our emergency management team and evacuated one of the schools to see how long it would take to get the children out of the
schools and into the buses. I think it culminated in 20 minutes total," said George McClure, the mayor of Marcus Hook.
The evacuation of the school is only one part of the town's evacuation plan, which also includes a list of the elderly in area, some of whom would
need help getting out of town.
They will also distribute pamphlets to everyone in the area on Friday. The pamphlet includes information on what to do and where to go in case of
emergency.
McClure said that he believes the damage could be catastrophic if someone were to hit one of those tanks, because the explosion could not be confined
to just one tank, so security is extremely tight to make sure that nobody gets the chance to attack.
Police also said that this was the second incident in the refinery area that has been investigated in the past two weeks.
However, nobody has been charged with anything yet.