Three Middle Eastern Men Found With 1000 Cell Phones

(TV5) ^ | Aug 11, 2006

[george76]

Around 1:00am August 11th three men purchased cell phones from the Wal-Mart store on M-81 near the corner of M-24 in Caro.

Wal-Mart places a limit on the number of cell phones that can be purchased at once, that number is three.

The three men allegedly bought 80 by purchasing them three at time so that an alert wouldn't be triggered by the cash register.

They also paid cash.

An alert clerk grew suspicious and called Tuscola County central dispatch. The Caro Police Department sent a unit and stopped the rented van on M-81 just east of Caro. The suspects were headed towards Bad Axe on M-81 where there is another Super Wal-Mart.

The three men were described as being of Pakistani descent but live in Texas.

Police say the three, ages 19, 22, and 23 appear to be naturalized citizens.

One man was driving while the other two were in the back opening the phone packages with box cutters throwing the phones in one box, batteries in another and the packaging and phone charger in another container.

The suspects had 1000 other cell phones in the van. There was also a bag of receipts showing that someone was in Wisconsin the day before.

The phones were Nokia Tracfones selling for $20 at Wal-Mart. For your twenty dollars you receive a phone charger and 40 minutes of airtime.

The phones do not have to be registered with a name.

Also discovered was a laptop with store addresses and store logos.

[bereanway]

What, these guys are just doing the job Wal Mart won't do in Michigan? And they traveled all the way from Texas to help'em out. How thoughtful

[carumba]

So they buy em for $20 sell them for $38 out of the back of thier van perhaps with the implication that they are hot and don't disclose that they are only good for 40 minutes of airtime.

The golden triangle strikes again.

[NormsRevenge]

These fine young upstanding men were just exercising entrepreneurial spirit is all. It's all just a muisunderstanding, I'm sure.

[hershey]

Yesterday's plane bombs were supposed to be detonated with a disposable camera.

[MHGinTN]

Uh, how many thousands of remote detonated bombs were these geniuses planning on setting? Isn't it about time to open a tent city encampment in the Arizon desert, with several miles of razor wire and well armed/orders to shoot to kill guards ... and start screening young Muslim males through the vacation spot until every single Muslim male from 15 to 60 has been on vacation with Uncle Sam? Oh, I forgot, we have democrats infesting the nation, so tens of thousands will fall ill and die with PC infection from democrat leadership. It is amazing that democrats cannot understand that ALL the terrorists have been Muslims. Wonder why democrats can't seem to get that fact?

[Centurion2000]

The three men were described as being of Pakistani descent but live in Texas.

I really don't think muslims want to start jacking with Texas. It's a little different down here than from NYC.

[Diplomat]

... two were in the back opening the phone packages with box cutters throwing the phones in one box, batteries in another and the packaging and phone charger in another container.

You do not seperate the battery from the phone in order to conduct a hot-phone selling business.

[aft_lizard]

I wonder what these dishonest businessmen are funding with there ill gotten gains?

[Sgt_Schultze]

Buying something for $20 and selling it for $38 sounds like price gouging.

[Ready4Freddy]

Middles Eastern / Pakistani... whatever it takes...

[TexasRepublic]

They sound like dishonest business men but not terrorists.

Did it never occur to you that cell phones would make ideal receivers for remote detonators? It isn't hard to imagine some jihad fantasy to plant 1,000+ remote-controlled bombs around the country and then detonate them near simultaneously.

[KarlInOhio]

I'm suspicious too. The buy for $20/sell for $38 sounds like they were just being used to "launder" the phone purchse and keep the real buyer at arm's length. They might have even sold a couple out of their van.

One time Wal-Mart was having a spectacular loss-leader sale on baby formula, but the sale had very low limits on the amount you could buy. A coworker wanted a bunch for his baby, so he got us all in the car under pretense of driving us to lunch and then told us we had to stop by a Wal-mart. He then gave us each money, told us what to buy and to bring back the change. If that happened now, I'm sure Wal-Mart would have called the feds with 5 men in their twenties in dress shirts and ties getting out of one car, going to the baby section, picking up two cans of formula each, hitting separate registers and jumping into the same car.

[nuconvert]

The description of these being prepaid phones struck me. I remember reading about these kinds of phones being used by suspected terrorists and criminals just the other day.

[usflagwaver]

Do they have a retail license?

[weegee]

"Pssst. Wanna buy a cellphone?"

[KarlInOhio]

I think the most likely reason was to have a bunch of one use phones to throw off wire tapping. After being used once, they would be either thrown away or sold at places like flea markets. You take the battery off so that you don't accidentally turn it on until right before you're ready to use it.

[RobRoy]

>>They sound like dishonest business men...<<

That is one possibility.

>>...but not terrorists.<<

Maybe not to you, but they do to me.

This means we have uncovered two possibilities so far. One is a little more dangerous than the other. Which angle do you suggest we investigate with the most vigor?

[cf_river_rat]

[Irish Eyes]

I heard something on the radio a couple of days ago on Rush I think ( Roger subbing). What I heard was that they are using the chips inside the phones for use in car bombing. Do not understand how this would work.

[george76]

Apparently it happen recently in WV.

These buys were in Texas and then also Ohio ( Near Detroit ).