By TOM HAYS
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK- A team of New York detectives have stepped up their partnership with thousands of businesses asked to monitor their sales of chemicals in an effort to turn the private sector into an early warning system for terror plots.
Those participating “are manufacturers or service providers whose products have been used, or the use had been contemplated, in actual or planned terrorist attacks,” police spokesman Paul Browne said.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly - responding to reports that terrorists sought to down jetliners using explosives made from the solvent acetone and highly concentrated peroxide - directed intelligence officers to remind manufacturers and vendors “to report any anomalies or suspicious orders involving their products,” Browne said.
Since the operation began about five years ago, detectives have contacted 25,000 businesses under the program, called Operation Nexus.
Investigators urge them to report any thefts or shady purchases. The department also has asked building managers to be on the lookout for anything unusual involving chemicals, including large or multiple containers that turn up in trash bins.
Based on intelligence that terrorists have considered blowing up bridges using scuba divers, investigators also have reached out to dive shops. Self-storage facilities have been contacted and encouraged to report anyone stashing away weaponry or explosives.
In the past several months, the nation’s largest police department also has held a series of briefings for business owners, private security officials and landlords about the specter of homegrown terrorists using homemade bombs.