CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Aug 10 (AFP) - Federal authorities on Tuesday took custody of a Pakistani man who had videotape footage of landmark buildings, dams and transit systems throughout the southeastern United States.
Buildings included the Bank of America and Wachovia bank -- two of the largest financial institutions in the country -- in Charlotte, as well as the Texas state Capitol, the Texas governor's mansion and key business and financial buildings in Dallas, Austin, Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans.
Also on the tapes: footage of the Mansfield Dam in Texas, of trolley cars in Dallas and a rail line in Houston that handles more than 29,000 commuters a day, according to a federal criminal complaint filed last week.
The suspect, Kamran Akhtar -- also known as Kamran Shaikh -- was stopped and questioned by Charlotte police on July 20 while he was videotaping near a busy street intersection.
Charlotte Police Chief Darrel Stephens said in a news conference here that Ahhtar told police he was filming videos for family members.
"His statements were all over the place, from taking these videos for his brother to visiting around town," said Anthony Maglione, the officer who arrested him.
"He said he had to hurry up and get back to the bus station," Maglione said, even though Akhtar was headed away from the downtown bus terminal.
Stephens said police did not publicize the arrest while they tried to determine whether Akhtar, 35, was simply a tourist.
After police questioning Akhtar was was handed over to immigration agents, who found that in 1998 a New York City immigration court ordered him to leave the country.
Akhtar, who said he is a resident of Elmhurst, New York, and lied about having residency papers, left Pakistan in 1991, according to the affidavit.
On Tuesday US Federal Marshals took Akhtar into their custody.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued no alerts relating to his arrest, but a federal bulletin was issued last week to police officers in the cities where Akhtar had videotaped landmarks.