Border officials retract "weapons of mass destruction" comments

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Border officials retract "weapons of mass destruction" comments

A San Diego Channel 10 interview, with Customs and Border PatrolAssistant Director Al Hallor is going viral after the San Diego officialsaid weapons of mass destruction have been discovered by federal agencies at US ports of entry.      The Channel 10News investigative reporter Mitch Blacher asked, "Do you ever find things that are dangerous like a chemical agent or a weaponized device?"      Hallor said, "at the airport, seaport, at our port of entry we havenot this past fiscal year, but our partner agencies have found thosethings."      The interview played Monday on numerous major television news outlets and on dozens of web sites.      But the agency is now stepping back from that comment.       "During a local interview on port security that aired last week, aU.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) assistant port director in SanDiego made statements that were simply inaccurate,"Kelly Ivanhnenko,Southwest Border Field Branch Chief, said in an email to The Examiner."CBP has not encountered any weapons of mass effect at or between ports of entry anywhere in the United States. Furthermore, at this time, CBP does not have any credible information on terrorist groups operating along the Southwest border," it said.      Hallor could not be reached for comment.


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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/02/border-officials-retract-weapons-mass-destruction-comments