By Shayna Jacobs, Joe Valiquette and Mariel S. Clark
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Federal agents arrested three people Thursday in connection with the failed Times Square car bombing, an FBI spokeswoman told DNAinfo.
The men arrested are believed to have provided money to Faisal Shahzad, who admitted he tried to blow up Times Square on May 1, Attorney Gen. Eric Holder reportedly said. Holder did not specify whether the men were aware the money would be used for acts of terrorism, the New York Times reported.
A man in Pakistan was also arrested by the government there in connection with the attempted bombing, the Washington Post reported. The man admitted to helping Shahzad get bomb training, the Post said.
The arrests came after the FBI raided several locations in New Jersey, Long Island and Massachusetts as they investigated the source of money used to fund the attempted bombing earlier this month, officials said.
The raids focused on finding "cash couriers" who bring money into the country from overseas locations, sources told CNN.
Agents raided a home in Watertown, Mass. and a Mobil gas station in Brookline, Mass., FBI spokeswoman for Boston Gail Marcinkiewicz told DNAinfo. Locations in the Long Island towns of Centereach and Shirley were also raided, a law enforcement source confirmed.
Federal search warrants were also executed at a print shop in Camden, N.J. and a location in Cherry Hill, N.J., sources said.
The three people were arrested for on alleged immigration violations; all are reportedly from Pakistan, federal officials said.
"These searches are the product of evidence that has been gathered in the investigation subsequent to the attempted Times Square bombing and do not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States," a Department of Justice statement said.
Shahzad, 30, was arrested for admittedly leaving a SUV filled with home-made explosives in Times Square about two weeks ago.
Shahzad, who is believed to have ties to the Pakistani Taliban, was taken into custody two days later as he tried to leave the country on a flight from JFK airport to Dubai.
He's been cooperating with federal investigators since his arrest, but has yet to be arraigned on terror charges.
“Shahzad is still cooperating and is waiving his right to a speedy court appearance daily,” said Manhattan's U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, adding that Shahzad would be presented in court “at such a time where he ceases to continue to cooperate.”
