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PNR playing key role in terror investigations
PNR is the data that an airline receives from travellers to book and manage their reservations.
Washington: The passenger name records of the
airlines travel, commonly known as PNR, has emerged as having
a key role in many prominent terror investigations including
the Mumbai terrorist attack and Times Square bomb plot, US
lawmakers and experts have said.
"PNR has played a key role in many prominent terror investigations, including that of the 2008 Mumbai attack plotter David Headley and the attempted Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad," said Congressman Jackie Speier at a Congressional hearing. Congressman Patrick Meehan, who chaired the Congressional hearing on "Intelligence Sharing and Terrorist Travel: How DHS Addresses the Mission of Providing Security, Facilitating Commerce and Protecting Privacy for Passengers Engaged in International Travel", said in 2008 and 2009, PNR helped the US identify individuals with potential ties to terrorism in more than 3,000 cases.
"Among these was the Mumbai attack plotter David Headley, who was arrested in Chicago after US authorities accessed his PNR data from a flight he had booked from the United States to Germany. Headley has since pled guilty to a separate plot to murder journalists from a Danish newspaper," he said.
"PNR data also identified Faisal Shahzad, the perpetrator of the failed Times Square bombing in May 2010, who was caught with the help of PNR as he attempted to escape the United States at JFK Airport. In 2010, approximately one quarter of those individuals denied entry into the United States for having ties to terrorism were initially tied through PNR data," Meehan said.
PNR, Speier said, can be immensely important to terrorism investigations.
"Investigators can use a terror suspect`s past travel history to identify travel to terror safe havens, as well as co-travelers who may be associates, which can help to identify and disrupt the entire terror network," he said. PNR is the data that an airline receives from travellers to book and manage their reservations. This can include the traveler`s itinerary, payment method and contact information, said Thomas Bush of the Customs and Border Protection.
"It is one of our most important tools in the ongoing fight against terrorism, as well as narcotics smuggling, human trafficking and other transnational crime," he said.
"One important example of it is the case of Najibullah Zazi-- the al Qaeda trained operative who planned to explode improvised explosive devices in the New York City subway system," he said. Bureau Report
"PNR has played a key role in many prominent terror investigations, including that of the 2008 Mumbai attack plotter David Headley and the attempted Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad," said Congressman Jackie Speier at a Congressional hearing. Congressman Patrick Meehan, who chaired the Congressional hearing on "Intelligence Sharing and Terrorist Travel: How DHS Addresses the Mission of Providing Security, Facilitating Commerce and Protecting Privacy for Passengers Engaged in International Travel", said in 2008 and 2009, PNR helped the US identify individuals with potential ties to terrorism in more than 3,000 cases.
"Among these was the Mumbai attack plotter David Headley, who was arrested in Chicago after US authorities accessed his PNR data from a flight he had booked from the United States to Germany. Headley has since pled guilty to a separate plot to murder journalists from a Danish newspaper," he said.
"PNR data also identified Faisal Shahzad, the perpetrator of the failed Times Square bombing in May 2010, who was caught with the help of PNR as he attempted to escape the United States at JFK Airport. In 2010, approximately one quarter of those individuals denied entry into the United States for having ties to terrorism were initially tied through PNR data," Meehan said.
PNR, Speier said, can be immensely important to terrorism investigations.
"Investigators can use a terror suspect`s past travel history to identify travel to terror safe havens, as well as co-travelers who may be associates, which can help to identify and disrupt the entire terror network," he said. PNR is the data that an airline receives from travellers to book and manage their reservations. This can include the traveler`s itinerary, payment method and contact information, said Thomas Bush of the Customs and Border Protection.
"It is one of our most important tools in the ongoing fight against terrorism, as well as narcotics smuggling, human trafficking and other transnational crime," he said.
"One important example of it is the case of Najibullah Zazi-- the al Qaeda trained operative who planned to explode improvised explosive devices in the New York City subway system," he said. Bureau Report