GOOSE CREEK, South Carolina USA — Two Egyptian nationals stopped for speeding in South Carolina Saturday evening were carrying precursor chemicals, used in improvised bomb-making as well in as model rocketry, lengths of plastic pipe and twists of hobby fuse, and model rocket launchers, according to investigators.

The speeding stop resulted in a complete shutdown of the highway for about 10 hours and the arrest of the two men on local charges of possession of a destructive device. No link to terrororism has been found.

A bomb squad robot searches a car on US Highway 176 in Goose Creek Saturday night. Youseff Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, could face between 2 to 15 years in prison.

When stopped along I-76 at 6 p.m., about seven miles from a U.S. Navy weapons station, the driver, who said he was a hydro-engineering major at South Florida University, told a deputy he was carrying explosives. When a bomb technician and additional officers arrived, the driver stated he and his passenger were using the materials to make homemade rockets.

The highway was shut down for a large portion of the evening, as bomb robots, bomb technicians and federal investigators began a careful examination of the vehicle's contents and continued questioning the two men at the scene through 2 a.m. The military facility houses the U.S. Consolidated Naval Brig, where enemy combatants have been held.

The two men have been held since their arrest in the Berkeley County Jail on charges of "possession of a destructive device," however neither local officials nor the FBI had indicated any link to terrorism.  

In the vehicle, investigators say they found potassium chlorate and sugar, which when combined with a catalyst create what has been dubbed "instant fire" releasing heat, flames and smoke in a spectacular fashion. As a result, they are used in making fireworks and as a fuel for model rockets.

In addition a can of gasoline, PVC pipe, four hobby store brand rocket launchers and hobby store brand fuses were found, investigators said. The four PVC pipes contained an unknown substance. Also taken into evidence was a laptop computer, a GPS unit and Trac cellular telephones. The laptop computer was sent to the FBI lab at Quantico for analysis.

Copyright © 2007, ABC News.