By Jennifer Edwards, The Cincinnati Enquirer
and The Associated Press

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Police raided a warehouse business here and arrested an Ohio businessman who has been ordered held without bond because of allegations he tried to bring 25 Yemeni men into the United States for "improper reasons."

At the warehousing company at 4610 Interstate Drive, called Twins Wholesaler, West Chester police say they recovered stolen baby food Dec. 30 in a 10-hour search and arrested Ali Kareem Aladimi. Federal authorities took over the case Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amul Thapar said Monday the government has found nothing that shows Mr. Aladimi intended the 25 Yemenis to work for his business.

His lawyer, Janet Kravitz, argued that the Yemenis were artisans skilled in making stained-glass windows.

Ms. Aladimi filed immigration paperwork in 2001 seeking to bring the artisans to the United States "but all those steps stopped after 9-11," Ms. Kravitz said. "It was impossible to bring anyone into the United States."

Mr. Aladimi, now a U.S. citizen, was born in Yemen, a Middle Eastern nation whose government has been allied with the United States in the war against terrorism.

"Assisting other people in entering this country illegally is troubling, especially in light of the current situation," U.S. Magistrate Timothy Hogan said.

There was no mention of any link to terrorist activities during a bond hearing Monday in Cincinnati. Ms. Aladimi is suspected of using aliases and trying to move large amounts of cash and people under suspicious circumstances.

Yemen is the nation where three American missionaries were shot to death last week.

Mr. Aladimi has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years. He and his U.S.-born wife have six children.

The government previously seized $784,000 from his home in Beavercreek, a Dayton suburb, court records show.

The money was packed into resealed shampoo boxes.

Mr. Aladimi, 41, is already under federal indictment in California, accused of taking part in a conspiracy to distribute an over-the-counter drug used in illegal labs. He was free on $400,000 bond until his arrest last week.

A federal warrant accuses him of transporting stolen merchandise in interstate commerce.

Authorities said they found stolen baby food loaded aboard a stolen trailer at Mr. Aladimi's warehousing company in West Chester.

An elite regional drug squad tipped West Chester police that the warehouse contained stolen baby food, West Chester Police Sgt. Erik Niehaus said Tuesday. The squad, the Regional Enforcement Narcotics Unit - a Cincinnati-Hamilton County joint drug task force - targets distributors of large amounts of narcotics.

When a West Chester police officer interviewed Mr. Aladimi during the search, he denied the food was stolen and said little else, Sgt. Niehaus said. "He was polite and cooperative with us," Sgt. Niehaus recalled. He added that two employees were questioned but not arrested, and had no involvement in the alleged crimes.

Mr. Aladimi was charged with receiving stolen property and drug abuse after officers recovered khat, an East African shrub that is chewed and contains cathinone, which is said to make users feel happy, chatty and energetic. But after the U.S. Secret Service and FBI took over the case and filed charges against Mr. Aladimi, West Chester police dropped their charges.