Tampabay: 2 men detained after videotaping at port

TAMPA -- Two men from Bangladesh who were discovered videotaping on the grounds of the Tampa Port Authority have been detained for more than a week, part of a concerted effort to increase security at the port.

The men were discovered Oct. 1 by port security officials, who alerted the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. They have since been detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service at a facility in Bradenton.

It's the type of case that might have been handled much differently before the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. But since Sept. 11, officials at the port have been especially alert for any sort of suspicious activity, said port director George Williamson.

Although it's natural to think about the need for better airport security in the wake of the attacks by four hijacked airplanes, seaports across the country are beefing up security too, because they are considered potential terrorist targets.

The two Bangladeshi men on the port grounds were videotaping something and "didn't have a good answer for why they were doing that," when approached by port security officials, Williamson has said.

They were held so INS agents could investigate. The agency has since concluded that "Both of them have violated immigration status at this time," said Ronald T. Johnson, INS port director.

Johnson and other INS officials refused to disclose the names of the two men or say what they were taping. Bangladesh is a country of 131-million people on the Bay of Bengal, bordered by India.

Tampa's port is home to large cruise ships that carry hundreds of people and often is a destination for huge ships that can carry hazardous materials such as petroleum products or ammonia.

"You have to protect any vulnerability from future terrorist attacks," said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in a telephone interview. He said ports could be vulnerable "not only because of the commercial traffic . . . but also the cruise ships and then the strategic location of our ports, so often next to military facilities."

Florida's commercial ports could stand to receive $14- to $24-million each under legislation pending in Congress, Nelson said.

Responding to the security concerns, more than 100 law enforcement officers and business executives met Wednesday at the Port Authority's offices and pledged to cooperate and stay on the lookout for any suspicious activity at the port.

The case of the men from Bangladesh is similar to hundreds of others around the nation in which people considered suspicious have been detained by authorities. Although the detainments are presumably so authorities can look for links to terrorism, many of these people have been held for immigration violations. Some of these detainments, which generally affected people of Middle Eastern origin, have generated criticism from people who say people have been targeted because of their ethnic background rather than for any crime.

Capt. Greg Brown of the sheriff's office said deputies are staying especially watchful over the port. If they discover suspicious activity, deputies are prepared to "detain them until FBI, INS, FDLE or whoever needs to talk to them, if that's what it is," he said.

"Almost every single person today talked about cooperation between the agencies," said John Bushell, deputy chief of the Tampa Police Department, after Wednesday's meeting at the port.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard also is increasing its patrols at ports across the nation, and John R. LaCapra, president of the Florida Ports Council, told a state House committee this week he would like Gov. Jeb Bush to activate more National Guard troops to provide security at the state's ports.

-- Curtis Krueger can be reached at krueger@sptimes.com or by calling (727) 893-8232.

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