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""Mustafa told police he buys the cell phones and puts a special chip in them that can make them work as prepaid on any cell network. He said he then sells the phones at a small profit."

So show me the special chip...

Where does he get it from....?....who makes it....?

I guess the patent attorneys from Texas Instruments, Motorola, Nokia and Qualcom should take a look at this.

Seems at best some leakage of intellectual property.

I think it is more than a "small profit." Their overhead in driving all over the country to get these phones has to be fairly substantial. It is almost 1,300 miles from Dallas to Michigan where they got nailed for this scam. And there is no shortage of Tracfones in Texas. I checked and they are available in abundance. But Wal-Mart says Homeland Security limits sales to two to a customer and they can't go through the line twice either.

That's right, sic the phone company on them. They have no idea about terror!!!

"Here at the Phone Company we handle eighty-four billion calls a year. Serving everyone from presidents and kings to scum of the earth. (snort) We realize that every so often you can't get an operator, for no apparent reason your phone goes out of order [snatches plug out of switchboard], or perhaps you get charged for a call you didn't make. We don't care. Watch this [bangs on a switch panel like a cheap piano] just lost Peoria. (snort) You see, this phone system consists of a multibillion-dollar matrix of space-age technology that is so sophisticated, even we can't handle it. But that's your problem, isn't it ? Next time you complain about your phone service, why don't you try using two Dixie cups with a string. We don't care. We don't have to. (snort) We're the Phone Company!" -- Lily Tomlin from "Saturday Night Live: The First 20 Years" (1994 Cader Company).