Posted on 08/13/2006 6:52:40 AM PDT by kellynla
Tuscola County prosecutors say they plan to arraign three young men of Middle Eastern descent on ''terrorism-related charges'' after Caro police found the trio with about 1,000 new cell phones inside a rented minivan at 2 a.m. Friday.
Prosecutor Mark E. Reene said police arrested the trio - ages 23, 21 and 18 - late Friday afternoon, after FBI agents interviewed the men for hours inside the Caro Police Department.
''It's a very complex situation that involves interstate as well as international activity,'' Reene said, declining to specify the charges until after the arraignment of the men, who spent Friday night in the Tuscola County Jail.
Tuscola County prosecutors say they plan to arraign three young men of Middle Eastern descent on ''terrorism-related charges'' after Caro police found the trio with about 1,000 new cell phones inside a rented minivan at 2 a.m. Friday.
Prosecutor Mark E. Reene said police arrested the trio - ages 23, 21 and 18 - late Friday afternoon, after FBI agents interviewed the men for hours inside the Caro Police Department.
''It's a very complex situation that involves interstate as well as international activity,'' Reene said, declining to specify the charges until after the arraignment of the men, who spent Friday night in the Tuscola County Jail.
Tuscola County prosecutors say they plan to arraign three young men of Middle Eastern descent on ''terrorism-related charges'' after Caro police found the trio with about 1,000 new cell phones inside a rented minivan at 2 a.m. Friday.
Prosecutor Mark E. Reene said police arrested the trio - ages 23, 21 and 18 - late Friday afternoon, after FBI agents interviewed the men for hours inside the Caro Police Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at clickondetroit.com ...
Hang em High ~ Bump!
Good catch!
If they were legit, they could have bought direct from TracFone using a tax resale certificate for maybe half price.
Gee Officer I just liked collecting Pre-paid Cell Phones. I was only going to use them once and throw each one away.
Story on Fox last night that they would take them out of the plastic. Put the batteries in one container, the charger in another container and the phones in a 3rd container or box.
Now what do a couple of NICE 21 YEAR OLD CLEAN CUT COLLEGE STUDENT want to do with a 1,000 cell phones.
Pardon the interuption my phone is ringing.
I wonder what "terrorism-related" evidence they have, though...is it just tax/commerce stuff? Is there an established link that these are "clean men" to provide funds or components for others?
Why are they being arraigned on a local level?
The enemy we face today does not wear a uniform...since they are being held on ''terrorism-related charges; they are Military Combatants NO LAWYERS NEED APPLY!
"It's a very complex situation that involves interstate as well as international activity."
International? We may never know.
I heard this morning that these 3 guys were from Texas. They said they drove to Michigan to buy the phones because the Dallas area sells out of them too fast.
Last Christmas, there were several mid-eastern young men who drove from Dallas to Midland and tried to buy a very large number of these phones but a quick thinking clerk notified management who called the police arrived before the guys could pay for them and the guys tried to run.
Should there be any doubt?
They're being arraigned on a local level because it's a local level potential sales tax violation.
They dismantled the phones because they can sell the parts for more than the blister pack. Ever separately buy a cell phone battery? And I have four chargers for mine, home, bag, car, office.
The stripped cell phones are just tossed, they're useless without a charged battery. Besides, this arrest just provided needed info to those who game the system. Keep a low profile, buy just one phone if you're going to use it for a detonator.
I suppose drug dealers could transfer their battery to one of these stripped phones, but nobody cares about them. That's managed crime. It's more likely they're involved with dealers than bombers.
Heh.
I am curious to what kind of muzac ring tones they would use.
The FBI isn't saying why but they think these guys were involved with a plan to attack the Mackinaw bridge.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4113352.html
Haven't seen any of this on national MSM tv news.
I guess if they don't cover it, it didn't happen.
And are they selling them to drug dealers, or what?
Having 1000 cell phones is as good as having 1000 guns in the hands of terrorists. I would say the supply of remote detonators is drying up so the terror network is purchasing detonators where they are easily purchased. This defines a new kind of plot involving explosive devices on a grand scale. Follow the money trail and find the perps. This is good police work that involves vigilant citizens looking for suspicious activity by people that fit terrorist nationality profiles.
But then and again, perhaps they were buying phones for the "family talk plan" since the culture of terror also has large familys.
I've been across the Big Mac a couple of times, it's so massive a large jetliner would have to be crashed into it to cause appreciable damage. There's a tourist trap at one of its approach bases. A car bomb would kill the occupants of a few vehicles (bad for them) but not damage the structure. This thing inspires awe.
As far as economic disruption, what's in the Upper Peninsula to disrupt? The roads are lined with unoccupied and abandoned houses falling off their foundations. The yuppie vacationers could just as well head to Kentucky. The Soo Locks are a military operation, nobody will cause trouble there.
I call bunk on this one.
I've been across the Big Mac a couple of times, it's so massive a large jetliner would have to be crashed into it to cause appreciable damage. There's a tourist trap at one of its approach bases. A car bomb would kill the occupants of a few vehicles (bad for them) but not damage the structure. This thing inspires awe.
As far as economic disruption, what's in the Upper Peninsula to disrupt? The roads are lined with unoccupied and abandoned houses falling off their foundations. The yuppie vacationers could just as well head to Kentucky. The Soo Locks are a military operation, nobody will cause trouble there.
I call bunk on this one
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