FBI Arrests Holder of CDL with Hazmat Endorsement in Terrorist Probe

Sept. 20, 2001
In a chilling development on September 20, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a man who may be linked to a close associate of Osama bin

In a chilling development on September 20, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a man who may be linked to a close associate of Osama bin Laden. The arrested suspect not only holds a commercial driver license but was trained in hauling hazardous materials. The arrest of Nabil al Marabh in Justice IL was reported on the Detroit Free Press web site.

Al Marabh, 34, obtained his Michigan commercial driver license last year, and was qualified to drive heavy-duty rigs hauling hazardous materials, such as chemicals and explosives. Ironically, he got that license on September 11, 2000—exactly one year before hijacked airliners were crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. When he applied for the CDL, he showed proof that he had passed a road test given by a driving examiner for the Detroit (Michigan) Public Schools.

Officials with the FBI, the US Marshals Service, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service all declined to comment on al Marabh or the significance of his CDL with hazmat endorsement.

Federal officials have not said whether al Marabh actually went to work for a tank truck carrier or other trucking company. However, there is evidence that he applied for duplicate CDLs three times over the past two years, with the most recent request filed on September 7 just hours before federal agents went to his home in southwest Detroit.