Beghal was arrested on 28 July 2001 in Dubai as he was attempting to travel back to Europe on a false French passport after visiting an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan. During interrogation, Beghal said that there was a plan to attack the U.S. Embassy in Paris and told investigators of terrorist cells in Rotterdam and Paris. He also said that Abu Zubaydah, a close associate of Osama bin Laden, had ordered the attack. After being extradited from the United Arab Emirates to France on 1 October 2001, Beghal retracted his confession, saying that it had been extracted using torture.