A Pakistani man arrested in Massachusetts during the investigation into the failed Times Square bombing had the primary suspect's phone number and first name in his cell phone and written on an envelope, a government attorney said Thursday.
Aftab Khan, a gas station attendant, had the items in his belongings in his Watertown, Mass., apartment, said Richard Neville, deputy chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Boston.
Neville revealed the information in court Thursday as he tried to persuade a U.S. immigration judge to keep Khan in the United States.
Khan was one of three Pakistani men arrested on immigration violations last week as federal agents followed the money trail in their investigation into Faisal Shahzad, who is accused of trying — and failing — to set off a car bomb in Times Square on May 1.
Khan's cell phone had in its memory Shahzad's phone number and first name, Neville said. The envelope also had Shahzad's first name and phone number on it, he said.
Defense attorney Saher Macarius said earlier Thursday that Khan had never heard of Shahzad before his arrest.
Khan and a cab driver, Pir Khan, lived together in Watertown and were arrested last week. Friends have said the two are distantly related.
On Tuesday, an immigration judge ordered Pir Kahn held without bail. A third man, Mohammad Shafiq Rahman, was arrested in Maine.
All three men are being held on immigration charges and have not been charged criminally.
Federal authorities have said previously that they believe the three men funneled money to Shahzad through an informal money transfer network, but may not have known how the funds would be used.
Macarius said Aftab Khan worked as a civilian employee on a U.S. Army base in Kuwait for several years before coming to the United States in August. He said Khan worked for a company that brought food and supplies to the base.
Macarius said Khan met an American soldier on the base who agreed to marry him. He said Khan was issued a visa to travel to Colorado for their wedding, but when he arrived, the woman broke off their engagement. Khan married a teacher in Cambridge in November, Macarius said. Authorities have said he was arrested because of an expired visa.
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