2025 has started out with a terror attack in New Orleans and a Tesla Cyber truck bombing in Las Vegas. Closer to home, there was a bomb threat on I-85 just over the border in Greenville, South Carolina.
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) issued the following statement on Jan. 3, 2025:
On January 2, 2025, at approximately 2:45 p.m., a SC State Transport Police officer initiated a traffic stop on a tractor-trailer on Interstate 85 in Greenville County, due to a missing license plate on the trailer.
During the traffic stop, the driver, 28-year-old Ahmad Jamal Khamees Alhendi of Oak Lawn, Illinois, indicated that there was an explosive device inside the commercial vehicle. All six lanes of I-85 were subsequently shut down as the threat was investigated by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, SLED, and the FBI. The tractor-trailer was cleared and all lanes of I-85 were reopened at approximately 7:40 p.m. on Thursday, January 2.
Alhendi was taken into custody at Greenville County Detention Center and is charged with the following:
Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature:
S.C. Code Section 22-5-150
Conveying false information about a bomb threat:
S.C. Code Section 16-23-750: "Concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made to kill, injure, or intimidate any person or to damage or destroy any building or other real or personal property by means of an explosive, incendiary, or destructive device…”
Operating/permitting an unregistered vehicle
The tractor-trailer was registered to Globe Transportation out of Illinois.
ALHENDI
The press release included redacted arrest warrants:
The warrant documents say Alhendi said he had a "small bomb" in his truck, which he knew was a false statement.
All six lanes on I-85 were shut down during the incident which caused a back-up near Exit 44 at White Horse Road in Greenville that lasted over four hours.
Greenville is located about 100 miles down I-85 to the southwest of Charlotte. The city is located around 60 miles from the North Carolina border.
SWAT and Bomb team members were called to the scene just after 3:30 p.m., an official with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. When no explosive devices were found, all lanes were reopened sometime around 7:40 p.m.
Alhendi was given a bond of just $20,238 for all three charges, but he's still in the Greenville County Detention Center because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put a detainer on him.
Apparently, Alhendi legally entered the country in St. Paul, Minnesota, in mid-in September 2018, per ICE. The detainer hold on Alhendi is because he hasn't kept to the legal requirements that admitted him to the country.
According to South Carolina outlet WYFF, booking information for Alhendi says he has an "arrest warrant for pendency of ongoing removal proceedings," and that Alhendi has an immigration removal hearing scheduled for early August 2026.
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The tractor-trailer is registered to Globe Transportation, Inc., located in Palatine, Illinois. Records show the company was once located in Chicago in 2018.
According to its website, "Safety is paramount in the trucking industry, and we achieve this through regular orientation trainings for our drivers"
"Every new driver undergoes orientation training that covers company safety requirements, new regulations, weather condition warnings, and support during DOT inspections," Globe Transportation's website states."
Multiple media reports have indicated the trucking company has no official comment at this time but a spokesperson said Alhendi was "cleared to drive" and the truck was properly registered.
Video of the truck pulled over taken by WFYY shows no Globe Transportation signage.
Screen capture from WYFF video report
The company's training statement and the comment about the vehicle being properly registered don't jive with the truck being pulled over for missing plate.
Looking into Global Transportation, Inc., the company has been around since 2012 but its social media presence is limited to Facebook and Instagram. Its Facebook page is only a few years old and the Instagram account is "unavailable."
According to the Illinois Secretary of State, the company is not in good standing and creation paperwork was filed for Globe Transportation, Inc. by an individual named Mominov Bakhtierzhon on Dec. 20, 2012.
Globe's U.S. Department of Transportation operating record looks clean.
Other than Globe Transportation and a couple of recent lawsuits filed against it, Mominov Bakhtierzhon is an internet ghost.
Lawsuit filed in February 2024 names Globe and Mominov Bakhtierzhon as defendants, along with multiple John Does: Austin v. Enweremadu
Trying to trace that name pulled a few records of living in Orlando, Florida, but mainly residences in Chicago. The name “Mominov Bakhtierzhon” has very similar variations with origins in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, as well as Turkey.
Seems like the owner of this company is a much a mystery right now as is why Alhendi claimed he had a bomb on board.
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