Posted on 06/07/2008 6:42:49 PM PDT by doug from upland
We have another thing about which to worry. I saw this photo from the Hillary sort of concession speech today and wondered. Yes, a cell gunphone exists. At these rallies, people get very close to the candidates and, in this case, a former impeached president. What if this had been a weapon? Do they take the time to actually x-ray your cell phone? This is pretty scary technology.
Hitting the 5, 6, 7 and 8 buttons on the gunphone fires four .22 caliber rounds in quick succession.
At first sight it looks like a regular cell phone — same size, same shape, same overall appearance.
But beneath the digital face lies a .22-caliber pistol, a phone gun capable of firing four rounds in quick succession with a touch of the otherwise standard keypad.
The US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are aware of the device and have instructed baggage screeners to be on the lookout for suspicious mobile phones. This is especially after 9/11.
European law enforcement officials — stunned by the discovery of these deadly decoys — say phone guns are changing the rules of engagement in Europe.
Airport authorities across Europe are implementing systems to X-ray all cell phones.
“We find it very, very alarming,” says Wolfgang Dicke of the German Police union. “It means police will have to draw their weapons whenever a person being checked reaches for their mobile phone.”
The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the U.S. Customs Service say they’ve been briefed on the new weapons.
“This criminal invention represents a potentially serious threat to law enforcement and the public,” said U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. “We received word about these guns last month. We have since alerted our field personnel to be on the lookout for ‘cell phone guns’ at U.S. ports of entry.”
Guns on the Move
These new covert guns were first discovered in October when Dutch police stumbled on a cache during a drug raid in Amsterdam.
In another recent incident a Croatian gun dealer was caught attempting to smuggle a shipment through Slovenia into Western Europe.
Police say both shipments are believed to have originated in Yugoslavia. Interpol sent out a warning to law enforcement agencies around the world. European border police and customs officers are at a heightened state of alert at all ports, airports and border crossings.
Realistic Appearance
‘If you didn’t know they were guns, you wouldn’t suspect anything,” said Ari Zandbergen, spokesman for the Amsterdam police.
“Only when you have one in your hand do you realize that they are heavier,” says Birgit Heib of the German Federal Criminal Investigation Agency.
The guns are loaded by twisting the phone in half. The .22-caliber rounds fit into the top of the phone under the screen. The lower half, under the keyboard, holds the firing pins. The bullets fire through the antenna by pressing the keypad from numbers five to eight.
Amsterdam police says they are very sophisticated machines constructed inside gutted cell phones which do not light up or operate as real phones. “These are very difficult to make. We believe experts are involved,” says Zandbergen.
U.S. authorities, including the FBI, ATF, Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Customs Service Authority have been supplied detailed information and pictures of these new weapons.
“They’ve been given a heads up,” said Jim Crandall, ATF spokesman.
To date no phone guns have been discovered either in the United States or in the process of being smuggled in, authorities say. But they know it’s only a matter of time.
FAA spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler said airport security officers had been trained to deal with this new threat.
“We don’t want to tell the bad guys exactly what we’re looking for,” she says, “We are trying to stay one step ahead.”
Will Affect Travelers
Airport authorities across Europe are implementing systems to X-ray all cell phones, those procedures will likely be followed by airports around the world. “This is just one more item that we need to pay special attention to because nowadays, of course just about every passenger carries a mobile phone,” says the spokesman for Frankfurt airport security.
Customs officials in the U.S. say their safety procedure has normally been to require travelers to turn their phones on, however that may no longer be enough. Cell phone users will have to be made aware that reaching for their phones in some circumstances could be misinterpreted as a threat by authorities.
Damn, doug, that first pic. You’re not very subtle now. :)
Wow. Sort of like Maxwell Smart gear.
That was not the intent. When I saw the phone pointing at Clinton, it really did look ominous. I did a quick search and learned that a weapon does exist.
Or James Bond.
known about this for some time. scary stuff.
any other models, that you found? Interesting FYI Ping.
I remember a Pager gun a few years back.
This should not be surprising. Single-shot guns, as well as knives, have been fabricated out of just about everything that one would normally carry, in order to disguise the true intent. Just look up 12020 of the California Penal Code.
Yeah, but Max was cooler than James.
Small caliber, short barrel, not good for accuracy. Only good for close quarters assassinations and drive by phone calls.
Scary product though.
I’m sure the USSS is well aware of this potential threat and having gone through their screening process a couple of times, I am sure that particular device would be caught before getting anywhere near a protected asset. It also wouldn’t make it through TSA either.
I wasn’t thinking much about cell phones. But how about those larger digital cameras that could actually be C4 explosives? Even the smaller digitals could do the job.
Someone is building cell phone guns and distributing them through the criminal underground. These weapons first showed up in Europe in late 2000. The weapon is built around a hollow cell phone case. The mechanism is installed inside the case so that by hitting the correct buttons, the cell phone case comes apart. In the top half you can see four .22 caliber (5.56mm) bullets in short barrels that are concealed by the plastic covering at the top of the cell phone. When you snap the cell phone back together, four of the buttons on the cell phone will release a spring loaded firing pin into the rear of one of the bullets, firing it out the front of the case. It's not very accurate, but from a few feet away, a shot in the head will kill, and a hit anywhere else will be felt. These cell phone guns have not yet been reported in the United States. But the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Customs Service have all been briefed on the new weapons, as have all U.S. ports of entry. No one is sure, but it is thought that the cell phone guns were invented, and are being built, somewhere in the Balkans. While they look like cell phones, if you hold one in your hand they are noticeably heavier. For criminals, especially professional killers, such weapons would be useful in situations where people are being frisked for weapons when entering a club, or a meeting with other gangsters. The weapons could also be smuggled into jails to aid in prison escapes. Commandoes and spies might find this device useful as well. The weapons could also be used to hijack aircraft.
So they look for a hollow antenna. Not so difficult.
Cell phones affect me the same way...
Old hat Doug, saw this thing several years ago.
Not meaning to be critical, I read all your posts.
I guess I just missed this one.
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