BY DAVID KIDWELL

 A private investigator who, police reported, was frequently seen with a weapon near the home of Elian Gonzalez's Miami family said Monday those reports are untrue.

 ''I have never had a weapon inside the house, outside the house or anywhere near the house,'' said Mario Blas Miranda, 48, the security chief for the Cuban American National Foundation who was assigned to the security detail for the family.

 ''And I tell you now that anyone who says I did have a weapon there is a liar.''

 Federal authorities have said they chose a tactical use of force in part because they had ''credible reports of weapons inside that house.''

 Miami Police Chief William O'Brien and Immigration and Naturalization Service spokeswoman Maria Cardona on Sunday confirmed information from other federal sources that those ''credible reports'' centered on Miranda wearing a weapon at his ankle.

 In addition, a Herald reporter at the Gonzalez house on Thursday reported seeing the butt of a semiautomatic handgun on Miranda's ankle.

 Miranda did not return repeated telephone calls for comment on Sunday. His ex-wife, called several times at home, told The Herald she had contacted Miranda and he did not wish to be interviewed.

 On Monday, after a Herald story detailed the police reports of his weapon, Miranda called to say the story was inaccurate.

 ''I have never owned an ankle holster,'' said Miranda, a former Miami Police officer. ''I know the laws that say you cannot carry a weapon into a demonstration, and there have been demonstrations out there 24 hours a day. What do I need to carry a weapon for when there are seven million police officers around?

 ''It's a lie.''

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald