Report of Arab Terrorists Entering U.S. Doubted

Federal law enforcement authorities said Thursday that an extensive investigation has failed to yield any evidence to confirm a report that three Arab terrorists may have recently entered the United States illegally through Tijuana.

During a news conference at U.S. Border Patrol regional headquarters here, officials of the FBI and Border Patrol responded with skepticism to an account given by an unidentified Mexican man who told authorities two weeks ago that he had been forced at gunpoint to guide three people, possibly Arabs, into the United States on April 17, three days after the U.S. attack on Libya.

“We have been unable in all of the investigating process . . . to verify that those individuals did in fact come into the United States,” said Alan Eliason, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol sector in San Diego. “I would bet that this was a fabricated story, but I’m not going to take a chance.”

So, with U.S. authorities worldwide on alert for possible terrorist attacks, the report has spurred extensive investigation. Police agencies from San Diego to Los Angeles have been notified of the incident and provided with descriptions and composite sketches of the suspects.

“It’s like a bomb scare; you’ve got to be there,” said Gary L. Penrith, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego office.

U.S. authorities said they decided to speak out on the matter Thursday after the Register of Orange County published details of a confidential FBI report outlining the incident.