Mistaken security alert at Miami port, police say

Jan 8, 2007, 10:41 GMT

Washington - An apparent miscommunication with a truck driver at a police checkpoint sparked a major security incident Sunday in Miami at the Florida city's seaport complex.

The incident occurred four weeks before the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League, is scheduled to be played in Miami.

The driver and two people in his lorry were arrested Sunday as they tried to enter the port of Miami. The three, described by police as Middle Eastern, were taken into custody of federal law enforcement officials and underwent extensive questioning, the Miami-Dade Police Department said.

Miami-Dade County's police bomb squad checked the semi-tractor trailer truck for explosives or other hazardous materials. The blue trailer proved to contain electronic automotive parts, as indicated on the truck manifest.

Both the cargo and passenger areas of the port remained open throughout the incident, Miami authorities emphasized.

'The port of Miami is safe,' Miami-Dade police Lieutenant Nancy Goldberg told reporters.

The driver tried to enter the cargo area at the port of Miami about 8 am Sunday and was stopped by local police at a security checkpoint for routine examination of paperwork. The driver lacked a port-issued identification card and suspicions were aroused during an inspection for him to be issued a temporary pass to enter.

A 'miscommunication' arose at the security gate about the number of people in the truck, Goldberg said. Police at the gate believed that the driver had said he was alone, but two other men were in the cab of the truck.

The problem 'could have been a language barrier - we don't know at this point,' Goldberg said.

She said that it was not clear whether the driver or his passengers might face administrative violations in connection with the incident, but criminal charges did not appear imminent.