Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

FBI: No terror groups in cell phone case
AP on Yahoo ^ | 8/14/06 | AP

Posted on 08/14/2006 12:16:12 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

CARO, Mich. - The FBI said Monday it had no information to indicate that the three Texas men arrested with about 1,000 cell phones in their van had any direct connection to known terrorist groups.

Authorities had increased patrols on Michigan's 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge after local prosecutors said investigators believed the men were targeting the span.

Local authorities didn't say what they believed the men intended to do with the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones, but Caro's police chief noted that cell phones can be untraceable and used as detonators.

The FBI issued a news release Monday saying there is no imminent threat to the bridge linking Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.

The release also said the FBI had no information indicating that the men, Palestinian-Americans living in Texas, had any direct links to any known terrorist groups or to the alleged plot to bomb trans-Atlantic jetliners that was announced in London last week.

William Kowalski, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit field office, said authorities believe concern about the bridge was connected to images of the Mackinac Bridge found on a digital camera belonging to the men.

Kowalski said there was nothing illegal about buying cell phones in bulk, but that profits from that kind of activity can be suspicious.

Adham Abdelhamid Othman, 21, of Dallas, and Maruan Awad Muhareb, 18, and Louai Abdelhamied Othman, 23, both of Mesquite, Texas, were stopped by police Friday outside a Wal-Mart store in Caro, about 80 miles north of Detroit after employees became suspicious when they purchased about 80 cell phones.

Local prosecutors charged them with collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes.

The men told a magistrate Saturday that they were buying the phones for resale.

Louai Othman's wife, Lina Odeh, told The Associated Press on Saturday that she thought her husband and relatives were targeted because of their Arab descent. She said the men's families come from Jerusalem.

Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark E. Reene said Monday that representatives of his office and Caro police had met with Sunday with officials from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. attorney's office. He said all the agencies were working together on the investigation.

Messages seeking further comment from Reene were not immediately returned.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Government; US: Michigan; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: carocell; cellphone; cellphones; fbi; jihadinamerica; mackinac; nonterroristattack; terrorgroups; tracfones
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-109 next last
To: Idaho Whacko; All
=="...bush sets the tone for "lets not scare anyone, and PLEASE don't make the muslims mad".

To Bush's credit he now has 'Islamic Fascist' in his vocabulary, but you have a point for debate. So does popular right-thinking writer Mark Steyn thinking along your lines: "...Bomb us, and we agonize over the “root causes” (that is, what we did wrong). Decapitate us, and our politicians rush to the nearest mosque to declare that ‘Islam is a religion of peace’. Issue bloodcurdling calls at Friday prayers to kill all the Jews and infidels, and we fret that it may cause a backlash against Muslims.”

So did right-thinking American Digest.org in his ‘Sleepwalking’ essay, "...We know the nature and goals of our enemy well. Our army is at the ready and in the field. And yet we hesitate..."

So did the right-thinking DiscerningTexan blog with questions on August 10th :

Where has my President Gone?

61 posted on 08/14/2006 7:08:00 PM PDT by OnRightOnLeftCoast (U.S. government: Voluntary laws and policies assuring self-destruction)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: All

Forgot to add, in the Discerning Texan site, see entry on August 13 re charges being filed by local authorities re cell phone.


62 posted on 08/14/2006 7:12:58 PM PDT by OnRightOnLeftCoast (U.S. government: Voluntary laws and policies assuring self-destruction)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: Cobra64
Mrthinks the FBI's report is a smokescreen. First to calm down mom and pop America, and second, to allow the bad guys to think that they're still okay with disposable phones.

Tend to agree. Seems to quick for the FBI to make this claim. I suspect they are still pulling strings to see where they lead.

63 posted on 08/14/2006 7:17:14 PM PDT by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: All

The FBI knows what's going on with these phones by this time, it's been happening for a while -

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1515879/posts


Wonder how much the local yokel cops are going to have to pay for the false arrests ?


64 posted on 08/14/2006 7:21:34 PM PDT by RS ("I took the drugs because I liked them and I found excuses to take them, so I'm not weaseling.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: TADSLOS; Cobra64

I'm with you guys. Even so, I hope they stuck one of those nextel's w/ the GPS unit up Haji's backside so we can track their movements for a few days.

If it looks like a skunk, smells like a skunk...


65 posted on 08/14/2006 7:42:18 PM PDT by capt.P (Hold Fast! Strong Hand Uppermost!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: capt.P

The local news just announced charges will be dropped against the Ohio jihadists cell phone bootleggers. Apparently, its not illegal to sell phones to crack heads and dope dealers...


66 posted on 08/14/2006 8:23:52 PM PDT by chadwimc
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: Idaho Whacko

Do these phones have any kind of locational ability?


67 posted on 08/14/2006 8:36:50 PM PDT by PLMerite ("Unarmed, one can only flee from Evil. But Evil isn't overcome by fleeing from it." Jeff Cooper)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Idaho Whacko

On the Dearborn cell phone guys, I just read this, (not sure if you know this and I am behind)

Vessels said Thursday that police found a security guide for Royal Jordanian Airlines in the suspects' car. The guide had details on how to turn on computers at the airlines, and also how to delete bag tag numbers, pull up passenger flight lists and reissue boarding passes. Police found the guide in the suspects' car after pulling them over for a traffic violation.


68 posted on 08/14/2006 9:52:02 PM PDT by sasha123 (Pray for the peace of Jerusalem)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: PLMerite

I don't think they have the GPS gizmo....


69 posted on 08/14/2006 9:54:42 PM PDT by Cold Heat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: Suzy Quzy

Disinformation is echoing around. It seems that the phones in their original bubble packaging do not have the battery inside the phone, nor the charger connected. Separating them into groups and pitching the packaging makes sense if they are going to be shipped in bulk somewhere else. It takes up less space. At the destination each customer gets handed one phone, one battery, and one charger.


70 posted on 08/14/2006 9:58:40 PM PDT by The Red Zone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: newcthem
Does anyone actually believe this BULLSH*T?????

Not me!

I understand they threw out the chargers and only kept the phone.

You cannot ship the phone with the battery, so the batteries were removed.

I think the Feds let them go to follow the phones. Unfortunately, they will likely trash can the ones they bought and buy new ones, thinking the feds bugged them...which they probably are doing as we speak.

These phones are making their way to arms dealers and the like who furnish them to their clients. They uses them one day and throw them out or use them for detonators, to prohibit phone traces.

That's what I think......

71 posted on 08/14/2006 10:00:24 PM PDT by Cold Heat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: BigBobber

And, a debit card, a credit card, or checks would start raising eyebrows and possible temporary freezes when a large volume of transactions started to roll in. Cash doesn't have that inconvenience.


72 posted on 08/14/2006 10:01:13 PM PDT by The Red Zone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: Cold Heat

I heard nothing about pitched chargers, only chargers being packaged together separately.


73 posted on 08/14/2006 10:01:45 PM PDT by The Red Zone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: Cold Heat
Unfortunately, they will likely trash can the ones they bought and buy new ones

So long as their customers don't know, they won't care if the Fibbies recorded all the numbers.

74 posted on 08/14/2006 10:03:15 PM PDT by The Red Zone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: The Red Zone
Just repeating what some newzies have said about the investigation.

It is possible that the chargers are not needed where they are going. The Hezbo supply SGT or whatever, simply needs to charge the battery and issue the phones for the mission. He probably has a crap load of chargers already.

Since the phone is only used a short time, recharging is not needed.

There is no other reason to take the charger out of the package.....

75 posted on 08/14/2006 10:06:40 PM PDT by Cold Heat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 73 | View Replies]

To: The Red Zone
If I were a Fed, I would have sales records and numbers on every single Trac phone sold.

But I'm not.....LOL...

76 posted on 08/14/2006 10:09:42 PM PDT by Cold Heat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: Idaho Whacko
The Muslims in the windowless rented van buying cellphones by the gross is not terrorism.

It's not. Seriously.

Conservatism is in great danger when even capitalism is labelled terrorism.

77 posted on 08/14/2006 10:11:18 PM PDT by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: lugsoul

BS...

Look up TracFone SIM Card on ebay -

http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-NEW-Unused-Non-Activated-TRACFONE-SIM-CARD-2K-LOT_W0QQitemZ320017069634QQihZ011QQcategoryZ48501QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This seller is selling bulk lots of 2000 Unactivated TracFone SIM Cards for $399.99 at Buy It Now Prices (that is $.20 per SIM Card if you buy 2000 of them )- the person has twenty five lots of 2000 in each lot.


78 posted on 08/14/2006 10:11:40 PM PDT by stlnative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: chadwimc
The local news just announced charges will be dropped against the Ohio jihadists cell phone bootleggers. Apparently, its not illegal to sell phones to crack heads and dope dealers...

The funny thing is, that crack heads and dope dealers are welcome at Walmart too! :-)

I can't believe people are actually buying this resale story....I hope the Feds are simply putting out a cover story.

79 posted on 08/14/2006 10:13:15 PM PDT by Cold Heat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: Getready
What did they pay for the phones?

$20 each. It was a loss-leader sale by Walmart.

80 posted on 08/14/2006 10:13:18 PM PDT by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-109 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson