Within minutes additional OI personnel were dispatched to the command center in FBI headquarters. They established a round the clock presence there, playing a key role in relaying information integral to the investigation between Customs and the FBI. At Customs headquarters, intelligence specialists immediately began collecting and analyzing data contributing significantly to the rapid identification of participants in the attacks. Customs P-3 surveillance aircraft were directed to assist in efforts to identify other potentially hostile aircraft. The Air and Marine Interdiction Coordination Center in Riverside, Calif., began providing 24-hour a day support to the North American Air Defense Command.

OI was positioned to react so quickly because it has had a role in antiterrorist activities for several years. By national policy, the FBI is the lead agency for enforcement of federal terrorism statutes, with other agencies providing support in their particular areas of expertise. Customs special agents, along with their counterparts from several other organizations, have been full-time participants in 30 FBI-sponsored Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) in major cities throughout the United States. OI contributes especially in terrorist-related import/export and financial investigations, and by providing aviation resources in certain situations impacting on national security.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

U.S. Customs Special Agent Nick Raudenski removes property from the seizure vault in the ruins of the New York Customhouse.

That support role has expanded exponentially since September 11. Close to 1100 OI personnel are presently assigned to duties related to the terrorist attacks. At Customs headquarters, an interdisciplinary team of special agents, intelligence research specialists, and inspectors was formed to receive, review, and coordinate all intelligence information and investigative leads relating to the attacks. This information, received 24/7 from the field, has been consolidated and routed to the FBI through the Customs liaison personnel at the FBI Command Center.

Agents assigned to the various JTTFs receive, task, and coordinate local investigative leads. In many cities, Customs special agents are partnered with FBI agents to conduct interviews, searches, seizures, and arrests as required by the investigation. Other Customs agents have been detailed to the expanded Federal Air Marshal Program, and to provide additional security at ports of entry. In New York, OI has more than 45 volunteers engaged in recovery efforts at "ground zero" to retrieve Customs property, evidence, and personal effects.

OI's Intelligence Division has dedicated over 50 intelligence research specialists to support the investigation. Thousands of pieces of information have been collected, analyzed, and processed for document exploitation. Customs pilots, P-3 aircraft, and the Aviation Interdiction Coordination Center continue to provide airspace security coverage. Customs aircraft have also transported essential personnel from several agencies to key locations throughout the United States. That assistance has been critical during a period when commercial aviation was either prohibited or severely restricted.

Attention focuses increasingly on the attackers' financial base. OI has assigned intelligence personnel to the Treasury Department's new Foreign Terrorist Assets Tracking Center, and has intensified investigative efforts to identify terrorist funding mechanisms, seize terrorist assets, and combat money laundering in support of terrorism.

OI headquarters administrative staff have worked diligently to support the overall effort with particular emphasis on restoring investigative and intelligence operations in New York City. Communications management staff in headquarters, the field, and Orlando have spent many extra hours replacing equipment lost in the Trade Center, distributing extra equipment where needed, and making sure that the communications network remained intact.

OI will continue to give the highest priority to assisting in the investigation of the attacks on September 11, preventing future terrorist incidents, and cutting terrorists off from their funding sources wherever possible.

Special thanks to OI headquarters staff for contributing to this article.