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| FBI: No Terror Groups in Cell Phone Case | ||
| 2006-08-15 | ||
| CARO, Mich. (AP) - The FBI said Monday it had no information to indicate that the three Texas men arrested with about 1,000 cell phones in their van had any direct connection to known terrorist groups. Authorities had increased patrols on the 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge after local prosecutors said investigators believed the men were targeting the span. Local authorities didn't say what they believed the men intended to do with the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones, but Caro's police chief noted that cell phones can be untraceable and used as detonators. The FBI issued a news release Monday saying there is no imminent threat to the bridge linking Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. The release also said the FBI had no information indicating that the men, Palestinian-Americans living in Texas, had any direct links to any known terrorist groups or to the alleged plot to bomb trans-Atlantic jetliners that was announced in London last week.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #10 Anybody ever seen The Wire? Drug dealers buy these in bulk, & only use them for a week, before the feds/police can get a wiretap up. then they ditch them for a new set of phones. Suppose the muzzies could be doing the same thing... |
| Posted by: Gletle Flesing8458 2006-08-15 18:13 |
| #9 They want phones not traceable to one geographic area. (ie lot numbers which are reverse engineerible from other info) In other words they don't want a whole bunch of phones from Dearborn popping up on a roaming network somewhere else at the same time. PLEASE SOMEBODY IN THE FBI GET A CLUE! JUST BECAUSE YOUR LAWYERS DOESN"T MEAN YOU HAVE TO BE MORONS TOO! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-08-15 15:18 |
| #8 whoops "called in to Hannity's show yesterday.." |
| Posted by: BA 2006-08-15 15:12 |
| #7 Someone noted yesterday that they'd read the goons were buying these Tracfones, discarding the chargers, SIM cards and even batteries (I think) and were busted in Michigan (from TX). There's NO way they're doing this for profit in my mind (gas alone would eat you up in a van from TX to MI, not to mention there's plenty of Wal-Marts in between to buy these at). I'ma thinkin' they were headin' to Dearborn/Detroit for sale to overseas jihadis. Then, a local (lives 3 miles from the bridge) called in said she'd been wracking her brain trying to think of what they'd be used for on the bridge (not very busy, not a "symbolic" bridge, etc.). Then, their local news ran the story on the annual run/walk across the bridge over Labor Day (coming up soon). Supposedly, 60,000+ people on the bridge during this run/walk. Now, discarding all the "accessories" leads me to believe they'd be a trigger/detonator. 1,000+ of them could cover a good chunk of that bridge for that run/walk. Not to sow conspiracy theories, but, you gotta ask.... |
| Posted by: BA 2006-08-15 15:11 |
| #6 Suddenly, these identical cases are turning up all across US. Not before. Now. Same people would have noticed it earlier also. Phones , or phone parts, are being sold to someone in Dearborn for transhipping. They may be used for communications, but ultimately as detonators is my guess. I would say these perps will have company for some time to come. It would be far better to have a general terrorism charge and send them to Cuba for inderterminate period. Bushies were exactly right on this angle. Cut off any further news coverage, just handle it. And get these bastards off our streets. |
| Posted by: SOP35/Rat 2006-08-15 10:55 |
| #5 Tipper got it in comment #8 in this thread. I bet all the phones are GSM which are useful most places overseas. If they were for use in the US, they could just as well went for CDMA phones which are harder to eavesdrop. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-08-15 10:12 |
| #4 What's the expalnation for all the phones? Does it make ANY sense? Is it even marginally plausible? No? So try the jihadi bastards for mopery and dopery or something and toss 'em in the klink. Shit, you can't blow your nose in this country anymore without breaking three laws and an EPA guideline, so FIND A FREAKIN' PRETEXT! |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-08-15 10:04 |
| #3 Clearly something not good is going on here. Reading this WaPo article, it occurs to me that this may be a case of the FBI letting the small fry go in the hopes they will lead them to bigger game. I did like the concluding quote: "I hope this is a good lesson for local police not to spread fear and paranoia," Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, said of the Michigan arrests. "I'm grateful that federal authorities provided such a clarification." |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-15 09:46 |
| #2 What is up with the FBI do they have this reflex to says this line everytime a muslim gets arrested. |
| Posted by: djohn66 2006-08-15 00:19 |
| #1 I can vouch for the FACT that there are plenty of Tracfones for sale here in Texas (at $19.95 each), and there's NO profit to be made buying 'em in Michigan and reselling them here. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2006-08-15 00:09 |