US Customs Raid Boston Software Firm

Cheers |CEMAN & Fotix

The main lobby of software company Ptech Inc. sits locked and empty after a U.S. Customs Service raid on the company's corporate headquarters, December 6, 2002 in the Boston suburb of Quincy, Massachusetts. Federal agents seized documents in a raid on the small firm that does business with the U.S. government and is suspected of funding 'terrorism,' a law enforcement source said.

The software company whose clients include the FBI, Air Force and Navy was searched by federal agents looking for links to a Saudi businessman who in turn is believed to be connected to al-Qaida, government officials said Friday.

Agents from the Customs Service, FBI, Internal Revenue Service and other agencies, armed with a search warrant, went to the offices of Ptech Inc. late Thursday to look for information on Yasin al-Qadi. He is on the Treasury Department (news - web sites)'s list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists whose assets should be immediately frozen.

Al-Qadi, who is from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, heads the Saudi-based Muwafaq (Blessed Relief) Foundation, which Treasury officials allege is an al-Qaida front used to funnel millions of dollars to the terrorist organization.

No arrests were made but agents did recover evidence from Ptech, which consented to the search. Officials declined to specify what was found. U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan of Boston said the search involved "an ongoing financial crime investigation" but said an affidavit supporting the warrant was sealed by court order...

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