DENVER, Colo.—
Colorado terror suspect Najibullah Zazi's arrest proves the post 9-11 system of sharing intelligence between local and federal agencies works, the head of the Denver FBI office said Tuesday.Special Agent James Davis sat down for a one-on-one interview with FOX 31.
By the time Najibullah Zazi was taken into custody at his Aurora apartment, more than 500 Denver FBI agents and Denver metro area police officers, with access to shared national intelligence, had worked round the clock to make it happen.
"The great success was that we identified the threat and we addressed the threat," David said.
Davis oversaw the operation as agents and police traced Zazi's movements, phone calls, plans and purchases.
"All of these different agencies and different interests...combined toward focusing on eradicating a very real threat," Davis said.
While he can't discuss specifics of the case, Davis says changes since Sept. 11, 2001 made sharing intelligence possible. The formation of the Joint Terrorism Task Force with federal and local law enforcement was crucial, despite criticism that police agencies in Colorado are already spread too thin, he said.
"This is a great example of why that's necessary...that the focus of terrorism isn't necessarily going to be on the New York's and the LA's and the Washington D.C.sÂ…there is work for us to do here in kind of the center of the country."
