- Archives

One of the 16 people sought for questioning in an alleged terror plot in Boston has been in federal custody for more than two months and has no terrorist connection, the FBI said Saturday. In an announcement posted on the FBI Internet site, officials said that Mei Xia Dong, a Chinese woman, has been at a Homeland Security Department immigration detention facility in San Diego since Nov. 11. The match was made soon after her name surfaced last week as part of an anonymous tip about the possible terror plot. The original information indicated that Dong was a 21-year-old man. Investigators say Dong paid a human smuggler to enter the United States through Mexico and that she came to this country only for economic reasons. Authorities are continuing to search for 12 other Chinese, two unnamed Iraqis and one Hispanic man who may have been part of the same group. But no evidence of terror motives has surfaced, as the tipster claimed. "We're going to investigate it to its logical conclusion, but to date there's no corroboration of the original claim," FBI spokesman Joe Parris said. [more] and [more]

FBI Finds `No Credibility' to Terror Threat to Boston [more]