Witness: Megahed possibly part of cell

Youssef Megahed may have been part of a terrorist cell that was dismantled before it could accomplish its goal, an FBI supervisor testified Tuesday at Megahed's deportation hearing.

Frederick Humphries said the former University of South Florida student used his status as a legal permanent resident to acquire firearms for his friend Ahmed Mohamed, later convicted of helping terrorists.

"It appeared this was a cell, a group of individuals who had come together," Humphries testified. "It was very similar to other groups who are conducting preoperational activities."

Humphries was the first witness for the government, which contends Megahed is "likely to engage in terrorist activity" and should be deported.

Megahed and Mohamed were arrested in August 2007 after being pulled over for speeding near Goose Creek, S.C. Deputies said they found pipe bombs in the trunk of the car; the FBI determined the items were PVC pipes stuffed with a "low explosives" mixture of potassium nitrate and sugar.

Mohamed, also a former USF student, pleaded guilty to helping terrorists by posting on YouTube a video in which he shows how to detonate a bomb with a remote control from a toy. He was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. There was no evidence Megahed participated in making the video or that he ever saw it.

In April, a federal jury in Tampa found Megahed not guilty of charges of illegally transporting explosives and possession of a destructive device. But three days after his acquittal, Megahed was detained by immigration agents and has been held in an immigration detention facility in Glades County ever since.

Humphries testified that the arrest of Megahed and Mohamed in South Carolina was "the detection and disruption of an event before it happened."

Asked by the judge whether it is likely Megahed will engage in terrorist activity if released, Humphries said, "I don't have an opinion."

Later, government attorney Gina Garrett-Jackson asked Humphries, "Is it your opinion that Megahed poses a threat to the United States of America?"

"Yes," Humphries responded, "based on all of those things I explained in my previous testimony."

The government maintains it need only prove that there are grounds for a reasonable belief that Megahed is involved in or likely to engage in terrorist activity.

Humphries also testified about Ahmed Ishtay, an associate of Megahed and Mohamed. He said the FBI found video recordings in Ishtay's belongings that appeared to be surveillance of the Howard Frankland Bridge, Tampa International Airport and The Florida Aquarium.

Ishtay, a citizen of Israel and the United States, hasn't been charged. He no longer is in the United States.

The trial is expected to continue through this week.