Police: Mohammed visited Brazil in 1995
Top al Qaeda suspect was in haven for terrorists
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Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is shown in these undated FBI handout photos.
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SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNN) -- Top al Qaeda suspect Khalid Shaikh Mohammed spent nearly three weeks in Brazil in December 1995, visiting a region with many Arabs, Brazilian police told CNN on Saturday.
International and regional intelligence officials said the area Mohammed visited in Foz de Iguacu, along Brazil's porous border with Argentina and Paraguay, has been a source of funds and a haven for terrorist groups, including some believed to work closely with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
Police data show that Mohammed, the terror network's reputed operations chief, was in Brazil from December 4-25. He entered the country via Sao Paulo from Pakistan and left for Holland from Rio de Janeiro, police said.
Mohammed was captured March 1 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. His arrest has been heralded as the biggest in the war on terror since it was launched after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in which about 3,000 people were killed. United States officials said he helped plan the attacks on New York and Washington.
A Brazilian police spokesman said investigators are trying to determine why Mohammed was in Brazil and where he went during his visit.
Leaders of the southern region's Arab community have denied links to terrorist groups and say they are being targeted unfairly because of their ethnic backgrounds.
There was no warrant out for Mohammed's arrest at the time of his visit to Brazil. Police learned of his visit in June 1998, when U.S. authorities asked their Brazilian counterparts to watch for him. Police said they have no indication Mohammed has been back to Brazil since 1995.
