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Canadian man targets Alaska oil sites in bomb plot
Jim Clarke Associated Press Writer
A British Columbia man has been arrested on bomb charges, accused of hatching a plot to blow up U.S. energy facilities as a way to boost the value of his investments.
Exactly which energy facilities Alfred Reumayr allegedly had in mind isn’t clear; spokesmen for police agencies on both sides of the border refuse to be specific about the intended targets.
But NBC News, quoting unidentified U.S. agents, reported Aug. 19 that Reumayr, 50, intended to blow up Alaska oil production and transportation facilities. Jennifer Ruys, a spokeswoman for Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., said she had no knowledge of any plots against the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. But like law enforcement officials, Ruys said the company policy is to not comment on anything relating to the pipeline’s security.
“We’re just glad that the system worked and that the fellow was arrested,” she said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested and charged Reumayr on Aug. 18 after an 18-month investigation by the Mounties and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
“During this investigation, no explosive devices were completed and the public was never in danger,” the ATF said in a news release.
The ATF obtained a federal arrest warrant for Reumayr from a federal court in New Mexico that accused him of unlawful possession of explosives. The FBI and the U.S. Customs Service also joined in the investigation.
The investigation is still under way, said ATF spokesman Bill Kinsella.
Financial gain probably motive “We believe this plot was for financial gain, not a terrorist act,” Kinsella said from Washington, D.C.
“This plan was not directed at the United States or Canada for any political or ideological reason that we are aware of. The plot coincided with the confusion which is alleged to be forthcoming during the Y2K confusion,” he said.
Kinsella and RCMP Cpl. Frank Henley said investigators would not release details of the targets Reumayr had in mind because they fear it could encourage copycat acts.
“It would pinpoint something that we might have problems with down the road,” Kinsella said.
Investigators think Reumayr planned to make investments in the energy sector, then blow up facilities as a way to boost their value.
The pipeline has suffered one significant act of sabotage in its 22-year history, Ruys said.
On Feb. 15, 1978, someone detonated a bomb near Steele Creek, northeast of Fairbanks. The explosion blew a hole in the pipeline that spilled 16,000 barrels of oil.
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