Under investigation: Detained US citizen turns out to be FBI agent

Daggers, spy cameras also recovered from his luggage.

KARACHI:

A US citizen who was apprehended at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Monday evening as he was found to be carrying bullets in his luggage, was discovered to be an agent for the US investigating agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), police officials told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

“He arrived in our homeland for a three-month mission but we have yet to ascertain what the mission is as our investigations are still in progress,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) for District Malir Rao Anwar told The Express Tribune.

FBI agent Joel Cox was travelling from Karachi to Islamabad by PK-308 on Monday evening when, during a routine search by Airport Security Force (ASF) staff, 15 bullets of a 9mm pistol and a magazine were found in his bag. He was handed over to the airport police station where a case was lodged against him under Section 23 1(a) of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013. The district Malir court has already remanded the suspect to police custody till May 10.

“We also found three small daggers, a laptop, a cell phone and spy cameras from the agent’s luggage,” SSP Anwar said. The items recovered are now at a forensics laboratory for analysis.

There were reports that the suspect was in Pakistan on assignment to provide training to local police; however, police officials have denied these claims. Police investigators are also gathering the details of other passengers on the same flight as Cox. When contacted, the spokesperson for the US consulate in Karachi told The Express Tribune that he is not able to provide additional information at this time.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2014.