'Shahzad used hawala money for NYC plot'

Botched Time Square bombing plot accused Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-origin American, used the hawala system to arrange money in plotting the attack, a CBS News report claimed.

Hawala is a courier system used by criminals to conceal the flow of money without raising red flags among law enforcement.

However, it is unclear whether Shahzad used the hawala system in part or totally in obtaining financing for the attack, including the purchase of the SUV Nissan Pathfinder he allegedly packed with explosives and parked in Times Square and the purchase of his ticket to Dubai from Kennedy Airport to escape authorities, the report stated.

In a related development, investigators conducted a series of raids in the Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, arresting three people. The raids were aimed at nabbing possible money remitters to Shazad, though authorities suspect that the detained may have passed money to him without knowledge of his intentions, the report said.

As investigators probe Shahzad's terror links, they suspect the Pakistani Taliban angle, which confirmed the flow of money in plotting the attack, the report added.