MIAMI, FL, United States (UPI) — The arrest of suspected al-Qaida member Jose Padilla in 2002 was not the FBI`s goal, but rather to recruit him as an inside informant, an agent testified.

The testimony came at a Miami hearing where U.S. Magistrate Stephen Brown will determine whether Padilla`s statements to federal agents during his interrogation at Chicago`s O`Hare International Airport should be kept out of his criminal trial because Padilla was not first advised of his constitutional rights.

‘I didn`t want to arrest him,’ said Special Agent Russell Fincher said. ‘I needed his cooperation.’

Fincher said after Padilla talked about growing up in Chicago and becoming involved in gangs and converting to Islam, Padilla abruptly stopped talking and demanded a lawyer.

Fincher said at that point, he advised Padilla of his right to remain silent and arrested him.

He said the agency had hoped Padilla could provide information about an al-Qaida plot to detonate a radioactive device, or so-called ‘dirty bomb’ on U.S. soil, and needed an insider, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

Padilla has been held for 3 1/2-years military detention as an ‘enemy combatant.’
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