"Aggressive detention of law breakers and material witnesses is vital to preventing, disrupting or delaying new attacks," Ashcroft said, citing the investigation of the three Michigan men.
He did not name them, but other law enforcement officials have identified them as Karim Koubriti, 23; Ahmen Hannan, 33; and Youssef Hmimssa.
On Sept. 17, FBI agents raided a Detroit house at 2653 Norman Street, looking to question Nabil al-Marabh, a suspected member of the al-Qaeda network. Al-Marabh's name was on an apartment in the building, but he was gone.
Instead, the FBI found Koubriti, Hannan and a man named Farouk Ali-Hamoud.Inside the apartment, agents found Skychefs Detroit Metropolitan Airport identification badges for Hannan and Koubriti, who both once worked there as dishwashers, and a day planner with notations in Arabic. Pertuso said some of the notes related to an American military base in Turkey. There were also notes about "the American foreign minister" and Alia International Airport in Amman.
Agents say Koubriti told them that the documents, which also included passport pictures and false identifications, belonged to another man, Hmimssa, who had previously lived in the apartment. Hmimssa was later arrested in Iowa. He, Koubriti and Hannan were indicted on charges of fraud and misuse of documents.
Al-Marabh was arrested on Sept. 19 in a suburb of Chicago. Al-Marabh, who is now being held as a material witness in New York, had held a commercial driver's license and permit to haul hazardous materials.
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