FBI Expels Bogus African Cop

This really makes you wonder what kind of screening procedures are in place at the FBI, when a foreigner with no police credentials can get into the National Academy and wander around with a video camera for over nine weeks before anyone realizes he shouldn't be there.

The FBI's famed National Academy recently expelled a student from a troubled African nation after learning he was not a cop, as he had claimed, The Post has learned.

The incident raises serious questions about the FBI's screening process for prospective National Academy students.

The 72-year-old National Academy is part of the FBI Academy, which trains G-men. It is located at the U.S. Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va. - considered a "secured facility" by the government.

The National Academy has trained thousands of U.S., city and state police officers, as well as cops from other countries, during 10-week courses that include classes in law, forensic sciences and leadership development.

After graduation, cops return to their jobs.

The expelled student - Zakaria Sinie of Chad - was one of 270 police-officer students enrolled from Jan. 7 to March 16.

Chad, in central Africa, is one of the world's most troubled nations, plagued by a corrupt government and a desperately poor population.

As with other students, Sinie's application for enrollment was supposed to have been reviewed by the FBI to check his bona fides: most importantly, his status as a cop.

The "quiet" Sinie lived, studied at and strolled around the Quantico facility with a still and video camera for 9 1/2 weeks before he was found not to be a cop, expelled and sent home to Chad, sources said.