Posted on 08/13/2006 12:50:28 AM PDT by conservative in nyc
Three Texas men were arraigned Saturday on terrorism-related charges after police found about 1,000 cell phones in their minivan, and prosecutors say they believe the men were targeting a bridge connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas.
But two of the men said they were only trying to buy and sell phones to make money, and one said the money was intended to help pay for his brother's college education.
A magistrate set bond at $750,000 for each of the men, who are charged with collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes. No pleas were made at the arraignment at a District Court in Caro, about 80 miles north of Detroit.
Officials have not said what they believe the men intended to do with the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones. But Caro's police chief said cell phones can be used as detonators, and prosecutors in a similar case in Ohio have said that TracFones are often used by terrorists because they are not traceable.
"All we did is buy the phones to sell and make money," Louai Abdelhamied Othman told the magistrate. He said authorities had previously stopped the group in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
"We've been checked by the FBI before," he said. "They even gave us their card and everything."
Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark E. Reene told The Saginaw News that investigators believe the men were targeting the 5-mile long Mackinac Bridge. He declined to say what led investigators to that belief.
Reene and the FBI did not return phone messages Saturday to The Associated Press.
Othman and Maruan Awad Muhareb, both of Mesquite, Texas, and Adham Abdelhamid Othman, of Dallas, were stopped before dawn Friday after they purchased 80 cell phones from a Wal-Mart in Caro. Police said they found about 1,000 cell phones in their minivan.
Adham and Louai Othman are brothers and are in their early 20s. Muhareb, 18, is their cousin. All are being held at the Tuscola County Jail, Caro police said.
Muhareb told the magistrate: "This is a misunderstanding." He said he was selling the phones to earn money to help pay for his brother's college education.
Louai Othman's wife, Lina Odeh, said the men were buying the phones to sell to a man in Dallas for a profit of about $5 per phone. She said they were in Michigan because so many people in the Dallas area are doing the same thing that the phones are often sold out.
"I just want everyone to know that they're innocent and they shouldn't be locked up in jail without any evidence," she told The Associated Press.
The arrests in Caro came three days after two men were arrested in Marietta, Ohio, where police said they aroused suspicions when they acknowledged buying about 600 phones in recent months at stores in southeast Ohio.
Ali Houssaiky and Osama Abulhassan, both 20 and from Detroit suburb of Dearborn, have been charged with two felonies money laundering in support of terrorism and soliciting or providing support for acts of terrorism and misdemeanor falsification. A preliminary hearing on the felony counts was set for Tuesday.
Defense lawyers said Houssaiky and Abulhassan planned to resell the phones simply to make money. They say the men were targeted only because they are of Arab descent.
...or rather it worked against capone... :)
Um, yeah. The dumbest wholesaler on earth, apparently, one incapable of getting things wholesale himself, or getting the phones straight from WalMart without paying a $5 bounty on each one.
What's the name of this mythical wholesaler? How long has he been in business? What are his business earnings? Who are his ripped-off clients?
You'd think these clowns would have come up with a better story.
What, there's no goats in Texas?
Or you are planning an extended terror campaign across the US using cell phone triggered IMDs. They don't need this many phones for day to day communications.
This is exactly why congress needs to ban phones that cannot be traced back to an individual providing name, address and proof of identity. Granted, people have fake ID's, but if someone provides false information they can be nailed for that and their terrorist intentions will be crystal clear.
Won't work. Locally purchased pre-paid cell phones are not likely to work overseas because none of the networks would be in the calling plans.
Suicide bombers will kill if they are legal or illegal.
The main problem, IMO, the elite have let too many UNAmerican individuals in this country, legally and illegally. False information appears to be a way of life for many in this country now.
Did I lead you to believe I thought otherwise? My point is that after we catch these terrorists with hundreds of phones and they lawyer up, it surely will be easier to prosecute them if they've provided false information to buy the phones.
I'd also like for this to be a federal crime, punishable by life in prison.
Hey Walmart, you're leaving $5 bucks on the table.
They do if they are buying for the whole terror network. And if they expect the US to crack down on the sales (stockpiling).
This is dual-use technology. Make detonators from a few, use the rest to communicate (imagine how many phones you would use if you had to throw away each one after 1 call). Thanks to the NYT, the terrorists now know what they have to do to stay hidden.
There is the possibility that these are just Muslim kids buying phones on the orders of the local imam, without knowing what they were doing. They should still go to jail for it (ask questions next time...).
That has a bad smell to it. Why would they buy cell phones from a RETAILER to resell to a WHOLESALER. Hmmmm...
"But neighbors like Ricardo Caldurilla have suspicions. "They had like vans out here, and they keep moving boxes, taking them upstairs, and they have cell phone markings on them," he said.
Apartment resident Rolando Rangel said he saw about ten family members packing a moving van once the news broke. "They moved out of that apartment in about an hour," he said."
Those numbers don't add up. The wife is a liar.
Surprise!!
On top of that...$55,000 by itself is already much more than enough to "pay for his brother's college education". This is a shabby story.
He may be a good businessman, but if he's selling above retail he ain't no "wholesaler". Which was my whole point.
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