Police: Bomb threat on N.J. turnpike not credible

[January 21, 2009]  WOODBURY HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) -- A bomb scare shut down a 30-mile stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike on Tuesday night, snarling traffic for hours before state police determined the threat was not credible.

State police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones said troopers took a 27-year-old Massachusetts man into custody following a car stop around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday in the southbound lanes of the turnpike in Woodbury Heights about six miles south of Exit 3.

Jones said state police stopped the car after receiving a tip from federal authorities that the driver might be armed and dangerous, and possibly carrying a bomb. Jones said the original tip came from a member of the man's family.

"Indications are this was erroneous information, albeit credible-sounding information, and at this point it seems to indicate that this was not a legitimate threat," Jones said.

State police initially shut down 30 miles of the turnpike in both directions from Exit 4 in Mount Laurel to its southern terminus near the Delaware Memorial Bridge. All lanes were reopened shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, state police.

He said FBI agents were questioning the man -- who was not charged -- late Tuesday at the state police station in Moorestown.

[Associated Press]

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