Saddam Hussein's stepson was arrested Wednesday on immigration charges in Florida, where he had enrolled to take classes at a flight school, federal authorities said.
According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Iraqi leader's stepson was traveling as a tourist and had not applied for a student visa that would have allowed him to take courses.
Mohammad Saffi, a citizen of New Zealand who has worked as a commercial airline pilot, planned to take a course at Aeroservice Aviation Center, said James Goldman, an INS assistant director for investigations, according to AP.
Miami television station WSVN said Saffi's mother, a former flight attendant, was Hussein's mistress in the late 1980s and that they later married.
Goldman said Saffi was seeking recertification training at the flight school. FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said he is employed by an airline in New Zealand.
Saffi, 36, also failed to tell customs agents of his intent to take courses when he arrived Tuesday in Los Angeles on a flight from New Zealand, Goldman noted.
The FBI spokeswoman said Saffi was tracked Wednesday as he flew from Los Angeles to Miami International Airport. He was taken into custody at a motel shortly after he arrived. Goldman told a Miami television station that, "We find the circumstance to be somewhat disturbing."
Saffi was being held at Krome Detention Center in southwest Miami-Dade County and is being processed for deportation to New Zealand, Goldman said.
The Weekend Herald, a newspaper in New Zealand, reported in December that Saffi was employed by Air New Zealand as an engineer and had lived in the country six years.
They said officials in New Zealand had investigated Saffi after Sept. 11 when they learned he was Saddam's stepson. Saffi had declined to discuss his relationship with the Iraqi leader when asked by the newspaper. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
