Eight years after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, a story concerning an Afghan-born airport shuttle driver in Denver, Colorado suspected of planning a terrorist attack inside the U.S. using bombs made with items bought from beauty supply stores serves as a reminder that the country still faces possible threats from terrorists, and – if the accusations turn out to be true – that more thorough and extensive “International” background checks during pre-employment screening are needed.

According to a report from CALL7 Investigators of ABC 7News in Denver, 24-year-old Najibullah Zazi – a legal immigrant from Afghanistan and one of three men charged with lying to federal agents in an investigation involving a possible terrorist plot – began working for 1st ABC Shuttle as an independent contractor driving airport shuttles in March of 2009. The owner of the shuttle service – speaking through an attorney – explained that Zazi was given the job because his uncle worked there and was a distant cousin of the owner, the investigative report revealed, and the attorney also confirmed that Zazi cleared two background checks – one by the city of Denver and one by Denver International Airport – although exactly what those background checks consisted of is not yet known.

The two separate background checks of Zazi – described as a quiet man who worked hard and wanted to make money – apparently did not raise any “red flags” or else he would not have been hired, according to the 7News report, and his arrest on charges of terrorism has shocked and surprised his workplace associates since he never shared any anti-American beliefs or discussed any terrorist plot.

Whether the allegations against Zazi – who has maintained his innocence but also, according to an FBI affidavit, admitted that he had recently received weapons and explosives training from Al Qaeda in Pakistan – turn out to be true or false, employers should realize that background checks sometimes need to be done on an “international” scale beyond U.S. borders if their employees are foreign-born, have lived outside the U.S., or have even possibly committed crimes while vacationing in foreign lands.

Since dealing with foreign laws and customs is a daunting task, employers may want to turn to a third party background check provider to help them perform international background checks on employees. To ensure the utmost in consistency, the international background check provider should utilize the same internal procedures as domestic searches for requesting, obtaining, verifying, and adjudicating all information prior to delivering results.

Pre-Employ.com – a national recognized pre-employment screening provider – is able to perform International Background Checks by executing Criminal Records Searches in hundreds of countries, provinces, and territories worldwide. In addition, Pre-Employ.com also performs International Employment, Degree, and Reference Verifications globally.

For more information about Pre-Employ.com's International Background Checks, visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821. Follow Pre-Employ.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PreEmploy.

tahearn@pre-employ.com

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