Posted on 09/09/2002 7:01:40 PM PDT by blam
U.S. Intercepts Al Qaeda-Bound Cell Phones
Mon Sep 9, 8:01 PM ET
HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. Customs agents at the Port of Houston found a large shipment of cell phones in January that were being sent out of the country to Osama bin Laden 's al Qaeda network, a customs official said on Monday.
The port's U.S. Customs director, John Babb, said an estimated 1,000 phones were discovered in a cargo container during a routine check by a customs inspector using an X-ray machine.
A Customs spokeswoman later said only 250 phones were found.
"We did find here at the Port of Houston a large cache of cell phones that were destined to go to the al Qaeda network," Babb said during a news conference on security at the port, the second largest in the U.S.
"The order (for the phones) was placed properly with a legitimate company supposedly to a legitimate source. However, through our investigation it was disclosed that it was an illegitimate source," he said.
Babb said the find led to arrests in other unspecified countries. He did not say where the phones were being shipped.
Al Qaeda is blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks that killed about 3,000 people in the United States. The whereabouts of bin Laden, who led and financed the group, is not known, but he may have been killed during U.S. bombing raids in Afghanistan , U.S. officials have said.
Babb said two other questionable shipments had been found at the Houston port and were under investigation, but he would not disclose any details about them.
My guess is that they waited until they had arrested all the 'suspects' in other countries before making this announcement. (I am good at Scrabble)
Maybe to play with someone's head?
Maybe they arrested whomever came looking for the phones on the other end, and put that guy away somewhere, and then they arrested the guy who came looking for that guy and put him away somewhere, and then they arrested the poor dumb mf who came looking for that guy, and put him away somewhere. Maybe they've been doing this since January. I'm thinking here of the Einstein from the first WTC bombing who came back to the rental place to get his deposit after the rental vehicle had been blown to smithereens and about 1500 FBI, BATF, NYPD and NJ State Troopers were on the case.
(steely)
(steely)
Yeah, I like this one even more.
Dear Nokia,
Please take this lot of cell phones and reload firmware to activate national security patch alpha seven (you know, the one that turns the phone on without ringing any time we send it the following code string...)
(steely)
Yup, they probably replaced the original shipment with some 'special' phones and sent them on their way. There may still be some in use, huh?
"Also please activate national security patch decap niner, [you know, the one that turns the phone user's head into a pink mist any time we send it the following voice message from Nick Nolte: "You are history, end of story."
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