Dearborn Police Say Arrest of Arab-American Cultural Center Owner Was Not Their Mistake

The wrongful arrest Friday night of owner Ali Hammoud on allegations that he was funding Hezbollah was not due to Dearborn police error, Dearborn Chief of Police Ronald Haddad said Monday.

"The actions of Dearborn officers involved (in the arrest) were professional, courteous and in accordance with our department procedures," Haddad said.

On Saturday morning, the Detroit Free Press reported that Hammoud was arrested Friday night at his Dearborn home on charges that he had smuggled and sold cigarettes in support of Hezbollah.

However, he was released Saturday after the FBI discovered that they the man they were looking for was actually someone else with a similar name and description.

At a press conference on Monday at the , Haddad wouldn't say that the FBI he made a mistake. He said that in his opinion, "it was not a mistake on our (department's) part, and it was not a case of mistaken identity."

A statement released Monday by the FBI did not admit any wrong-doing, but reiterated the message that Hammoud was found to be "not uniquely identical to the individual named in the federal arrest warrant."

"Mr. Hammoud was not the individual sought by the federal warrant, he has not been tied to any terrorist organization, and he is recognized as a respected community leader," the statement said.

The details of how Hammoud's arrest occurred are still vague, but Haddad said that his department "learned of a federal arrest warrant" for Hammoud while investigating another case.

However, Haddad added, the warrant from the FBI was for the man they arrested–not another man with the same name and description.

"The information listed in the federal arrest warrant listed the name, address, driver's license number, physical description and other personal information that matched Mr. Hammoud," he said.

"Mr. Hammoud is not a target of any Dearborn police investigation," Haddad stressed.