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BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- The uncle of one of the six western New York men accused of belonging to an al-Qaida terror cell was arrested by federal agents Tuesday after raids on buildings in Buffalo and suburban Lackawanna.
A published report had said the man being sought would be charged with illegally sending $3 million to Yemen.
Mohammed Albanna, a leader in the area's Yemeni community, was arrested by Customs and Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the doorway of his Buffalo store, the Queen City Cigarettes and Candy Co.
Asked if he was guilty of anything, Albanna said: "Not at all." He said he would issue a statement later.
Several men in a passing car shouted abuse at police as Albanna was put in a patrol car and driven off.
Albanna is the uncle of Shafal Mosed, 24, one of the so-called Lackawanna Six, the Yemeni-American men indicted in October on federal charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
The men have pleaded innocent. Prosecutors maintain they were awaiting orders from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization to carry out an attack in the United States, but acknowledged there was no evidence the men posed an imminent threat.
Albanna has been the face of the Lackawanna Yemeni community and an outspoken advocate for the six men since they were arrested in September. He has rallied the community, attended every hearing and continuously proclaimed their innocence.
"It's very disappointing to me. The gentleman has portrayed himself on local TV shows and around the nation as a community activist," Lackawanna Mayor John Kuryak said hours before Albanna's arrest.
The Buffalo News had reported Tuesday that federal authorities were searching for a businessman who allegedly funneled at least $3 million to Yemen over several years.
U.S. Attorney Michael Battle said he was not in a position to comment.
Charged in September along with Albanna's nephew were Sahim Alwan, 29; Yahya Goba, 25; Yasein Taher, 25; Faysal Galab, 26; and Mukhtar al-Bakri, 22. Alwan and al-Bakri have admitted going to Afghanistan in spring 2001 and spending up to six weeks at a training camp near Kandahar where they said bin Laden declared that there "is going to be a fight against Americans."
A Yemeni-American killed in a CIA airstrike on Nov. 3 was believed to be Kamal Derwish, the alleged leader of the Lackawanna cell, U.S. officials have said.
Prosecutors maintain the men were awaiting orders from bin Laden's group to carry out an attack in the United States but acknowledged there was no evidence of an imminent threat posed by the men.
The six men could get up to 15 years in prison if convicted under a 1996 law that prohibits giving money, weapons or other tangible support to foreign groups deemed terrorist organizations by the government.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
