Brazil detains suspected Al-Qaida member

A suspected Al-Qaida member has been taken into custody by Brazilian authorities in a case shrouded in secrecy, police said on Tuesday.

A federal police spokeswoman declined to identify the man or provide his nationality because the case falls under secrecy laws that let authorities withhold information while they investigate.

She spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.

The spokeswoman confirmed a report in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that the man is suspected of being a key player in Al-Qaida's international communications.

He was arrested under laws that prohibit the promotion of racism in Brazil, not on terrorism charges, the spokeswoman said. She declined to provide more details and would not say when the man was detained.

Brazil is home to one of the largest Arab populations outside the Middle East, with most living in Sao Paulo and in Foz do Iguacu, a hotbed of smuggling and contraband in the so-called Tri-Border region near Argentina and Paraguay.

US officials have been concerned for years that the area could be a fundraising center for Hezbollah and Hamas, although a recent US State Department report said there was no confirmation "that these or other Islamic extremist groups had an operational presence in the region."