Tizegha was arrested in December in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue

January 5, 2000
Web posted at: 12:02 p.m. EST (1702 GMT)

In this story: Tizegha only charged with immigration violations Still sought: Abdel Majid Dahoumane RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- A hearing will be held before a federal magistrate Wednesday in the case of an Algerian man accused of immigration violations. Law enforcement officials believe Abdel Hakim Tizegha also is linked to an effort to smuggle explosives into the United States.

VIDEO CNN's Aram Roston describes the evidence authorities have against Tizegha. (January 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD 2000 threats and fears Canada today

Although Tizegha, 29, has not been accused of any terrorist-related crime, sources tell CNN that he has ties to another Algerian, Abdel Ghani, who is being held without bail in New York on charges of aiding and abetting an explosives smuggling attempt.

In addition, the Seattle Times, quoting unidentified sources, said Wednesday the FBI has connected Tizegha with Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian who was arrested December 14 in Port Angeles, Washington, after crossing into the United States from Canada.

Customs agents said Ressam's rental car was allegedly laden with powerful explosives and bomb-making materials.

Ghani was arrested last week and charged with helping Ressam. A criminal complaint charged that Ghani had been in Seattle around the time Ressam was caught allegedly trying to cross the border with the explosives.

Tizegha is charged with re-entering the United States without permission and with eluding examination by Immigration and Naturalization Service officials when he re-entered the country in November at Blaine, about 100 miles north of Seattle.

He was arrested December 24 in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue.

In addition to Wednesday's detention hearing, Tizegha faces another hearing January 14, when the government must either indict him or show cause why he should remain in custody.

Charging Tizegha with INS violations would allow authorities to keep him in custody as they investigate whether he had any role in a potential terrorist bombing plot or a connection to Ressam, law enforcement officials said.

Ressam has pleaded innocent to five charges related to bomb-making, including attempting to smuggle highly explosive cyclotrimethylene trinitramine into the United States.

Arrest warrants have been issued in the United States and Canada for Abdel Majid Dahoumane, who is believed to have stayed with Ressam at a motel in Vancouver, British Columbia, before Ressam was arrested and may have been a passenger in the car carrying the explosives.

The investigation centers on members of the Armed Islamic Group, an Algerian terrorist organization known by its French initials, GIA.

Last week, federal prosecutors said Ressam and Lucia Garofalo, a Canadian woman caught crossing the U.S. border in Vermont five days after Ressam's arrest, were both linked to the GIA.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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