US agents searched homes and businesses in Florida and issued alerts for two cars in connection with the attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, police and local media said today.
Search warrants were served on four homes in Davie and an apartment in Coral Springs, two towns west of Fort Lauderdale, and agents searched businesses in Hollywood and a home in Sarasota County on the state's west coast, according to police and television reports.
A Miami FBI spokeswoman, Ms Judy Orihuela, declined comment. "I can't say anything ... my hands are tied," she said.
"I am not aware of any arrests at this point," she added.
The Miami Heraldsaid agents served warrants last night at the homes of four Broward County residents - where Davie is located - who were on the hijacked commercial jetliners that struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Police in Coral Springs, Florida, said FBI agents visited an apartment in the city late last night.
The city's Web site said: "The FBI out of Miami report that there may be suspects in South Florida linked to the disaster in New York. They are currently following up on leads to some residents in South Florida that may have some involvement in yesterday's tragedy. Coral Springs police issued a bulletin from the FBI asking officers and residents to watch for two vehicles - a 1989 two-door red Pontiac with license number D79 DDV or DVD, and a tan four-door Oldsmobile with license number VEP 54N."
Local academics said it was no surprise that federal agents had focused attention on ethnically diverse south and central Florida, teeming with immigrants from around the world.
The Islamic Society of Central Florida, located in Orlando, estimates the Muslim population of central Florida alone at about 25,000, the majority from India.
The FBI searched the Sarasota County home of a man believed to have connections with two flight schools in the area, Venice, Florida, police said.
"They did do a search warrant on a guy who has connections with a flight school in our city at Venice airport," Venice Police Det. Sgt Mike Treanor said. "They were there early this morning. They had the road closed off."
Det. Sgt Treanor said he did not know if any arrests were made.
The man whose home was searched, Mr Charles Voss, was a bookkeeper for the Huffman Aviation International flight school at the Venice Municipal Airport, a Huffman employee said.