FBI agents executed several search warrants Thursday in the Boston area, New York and New Jersey in connection with the failed May 1 bombing attempt in Times Square, and three people have been taken into custody.
Sources tell NPR the arrests are part of an investigation into the way money was allegedly provided to the main suspect in the case, Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad. The men may have been moving the money to Shahzad without knowing what it was for, the officials said.
Brian Hale, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, says two of the arrests were in the Boston area and that the other one was in Maine. Hale says all were for suspected immigration violations.
The additional searches do not come as a complete surprise. Investigators have been saying for some time that the investigation was continuing and, in particular, they were looking for suspects who might have helped finance the plot.
Shahzad has yet to appear in court to face charges because he has been cooperating with authorities.
An FBI spokeswoman says the searches are the product of evidence gathered in the investigation and that there is "no known immediate threat to the public or any active plot against the United States."
FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz would not confirm any addresses, but police have cordoned off a small house at Waverley Avenue in Watertown, a suburb about 10 miles west of Boston. Watertown Police have referred comment to the FBI.
A Mobil gas station in Brookline, another Boston suburb, also was raided. The entrances and exits to the station were cordoned off by yellow tape, and FBI agents were going in and out of the building. Agents searched a silver Honda in the parking lot, removing items from the vehicle and loading material into an SUV.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said locations on Long Island also were searched.
Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress the latest action came on Thursday morning and was "the product of evidence gathered in the investigation" of the Times Square case.
Vinny Lacerra, 50, who lives across the street from the house raided in Watertown, said he was in his living room about 6 a.m. when he heard somebody say, "FBI! Put your hands up!"
Lacerra said he looked out his windows and saw 15 to 20 FBI agents with their guns drawn surrounding the house.
About 15 minutes later, the agents went inside and came out with one man handcuffed and took him down the street, he said. He also said he saw an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"I was surprised to see this, because this is what you see on TV," Lacerra said.
NPR's Dina Temple-Raston contributed to this report, which also includes material from The Associated Press
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