Moroccan Man Is Detained at Canadian Border as Witness

A Moroccan man was detained after crossing into the United States from Canada and was ordered held Friday as a material witness.

Federal officials, who were treating the case with an unusual level of secrecy, would not say what alerted them to the man, Youssef Karroum, or in which case he would be a material witness.

Harold Malkin, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Seattle, said Karroum was detained Thursday at the border in northern Washington state. He was due in court again Tuesday.

Karroum’s lawyer, Gene Grantham, did not return a phone call for comment Friday evening.

U.S. Customs spokeswoman Cherise Miles declined to provide any details on Karroum’s detainment and referred calls to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Malkin and other authorities would not say whether there was a connection between Karroum and Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian who was stopped last month in Port Angeles after crossing into the country from Canada with explosives in his car.

Ressam has pleaded not guilty to charges that he had been planning a terrorist bombing.