Has Michigan Become Tracfonistan? (Debbie Schlussel On The Muslim Cell Phone Buying Spree Alert)

The Examiner ^ | 09/14/06 | Debbie Schlussel

[goldstategop]

WASHINGTON - Five young Muslim men are stopped by multiple TracFones in the Midwest. That’s not illegal. Yet, they are charged with terrorism. Just weeks later, the charges are dropped.

Just a case of Islamophobic law enforcement overreacting to innocents because of Sept. 11. Right?

Wrong.

There’s a lot more to the story with Adham Abdelhamid Othman, Maruan Awad Muhareb, and Louai Abdelhamied Othman — from Texas with 1,000 cell phones in Caro, Mich. — and Ali Houssaiky and Osama Sabhi Abulhassan — from Dearborn, Mich., with multiple cell phones and $11,000 in southern Ohio.

The Texas men had photos of Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge. The Michigan FBI and state police claimed there was no terrorist threat, just tourist photos. But a top FBI Michigan official admitted he sent his “B-Team” of agents to “investigate.” Prosecutors said it was more like arm-twisting to get them to drop terrorism charges.

WJRT-TV reporter Jeff Piechowski reported that the photos were shots of bridge grates, revealing the bridge supports below. How many tourists take pictures of grates? If there was no threat, why did law enforcement authorities beef up security like never before for a Labor Day march on the bridge?

The men threw away 1,000 cell phone chargers. Not a good business move, if you’re truly in it for the “business.” Prosecutors told Piechowski that boxes of the phones were addressed for Lebanon, aka Hezbollah Central.

The indictment of the men said they installed software on their laptop computers, with which they’d already wired the phones to steal free cell phone service from any company in any location around the world — untraceable. Sounds like a phone any terrorist would want. And it’s certainly a crime to rip off cell phone service providers.

Then there are the Dearborn men in Ohio. If what they were doing was perfectly legal, why did they lie to police about it? Why did they tell police that they were buying them for their fathers’ construction company, so its employees could communicate with each other?

And why does that story match — to the slightest detail — the exact cover story told to police by several other Muslim male cell phone buying teams stopped around Ohio and elsewhere in the Midwest? If there’s nothing wrong with it, why are there multiple, organized teams telling the exact lie to police?

Why did Abulhassan tell Sheriffs that he knew he did something wrong, that he knew that buying multiple TracFones couldn’t possibly be for a legitimate, benign purpose?

And why did they have flight and security information in their car? Houssaiky’s mother works Royal Jordanian flights. The airline frequently carries terror, smuggling and other suspects. Authorities complained about her suspicious behavior in connection with passengers on that flight.

Despite that, she continues to load passengers names and luggage information onto flight manifests, something she has been doing for years. Yet, she claimed the information was in the car the men drove because she was training how to do these things. Why would someone suddenly train anew to do something she has done for years?

There’s also a finance issue. Houssaiky and Abulhassan claimed they made $5 per cell phone. But Wal-Mart and Radio Shack, the stores they hit from Michigan to South Carolina, have limits to how many TracFones a customer can buy.

Radio Shack enters the buyer’s name into a computer, and each purchaser can only buy two of the phones per year from all Radio Shack stores in the nation. With gas at $3 per gallon (as it was at the time of their arrest), how economical is it to pay two buys to drive all over the country for $5 per phone? And why would anyone purchase the phones in Michigan — where it was claimed the phones would be resold at double the price?

The TracFones are available everywhere for $19.99. Why would anyone pay $40 for a low quality phone he can buy anywhere for half that price? Unless the phones are being used for something else. Cell phone chips and batteries are frequently used as detonation devices — the reason they were not allowed on British flights to the U.S.

Houssaiky’s family tree is interesting, too. His aunt, Amira Fadlallah, is part of the family of Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Hezbollah’s spiritual leader, who is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The principal of his former high school is a Fadlallah, too.

There are too many strange coincidences and questions here. And just because the terrorism charges against them were dropped, it doesn’t mean the questions were answered. They weren’t.

[goldstategop]

There are unanswered questions and strange coincidences surrounding the recent Muslim cell phone buying spree - an affair now known as Tracfonistan in Michigan. What exactly among other mysteries, was the REAL reason Ali Houssaiky and Osama Sabhi Abulhassan purchased multiple cell phones and where found with $11,000 in cash on them? How does one on explain three Arabs from Texas - Adham Abdelhamid Othman, Maruan Awad Muhareb, and Louai Abdelhamied Othman - also found in Michigan with 1,000 cell phones in their possession? It doesn't add up... unless one remembers among other things, that cell phone chips and batteries can be used as detonation devices. The FBI - shorthand for Famous But Incompetent - doesn't see terrorism at work here. You can pretty much rest assured when they give out that assurance, the opposite is the truth. So what's going on? I doubt this is the end of the saga involving the multiple Tracfones and more will revealed in due course.

(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )

[bpjam]

Dittos. There is nothing innocent about buying mass quantities of disposable phones. Either you are using them for terrorism, drug dealing, criminal conspiracies (which require avoiding wiretapping by the FBI) or sale to foreign countries where they will be used for (see above). And if the people buying them all have 'Ali' 'Mohammed' 'Awad' 'Abu' or 'Osama' in their names, you should just start filling out the FISA request now to save time.

[Luigi Vasellini]

bttt

[MarkeyD]

I wonder if they let them go so they could track them.

[madison10]

Gee, and "they" were trying to tell us these poor dudes were just trying to make a living by splitting the phones apart.

That was the stupidest, give-the-peasants-an-answer response I've ever heard.

[uptoolate]

Quote: "It's like the Keystone Cops and..."

Ah, nevermind. You all get the picture. Somethings never change.

Case I don't see or hear from you guys again...
I love you all.

[Thombo2]

Good article."There are too many strange coincidences and questions here."I'll second that opinion.I "assume" the FBI and other agencies are keeping track of these individuals.

[TomGuy]

Considering the damage and deaths that 19 Middle Easterners inflicted with a few box cutters five years ago, one can only imagine what the real purpose is in purchasing so many cell phones.

I have my doubts that they are making such massive numbers of cell phone purchases just to call Aunt Fatima back in Riyadh.

[TWohlford]

I have to hope that the FBI -- the guys who'd wrestle me to the ground for trying to carry a 10mm wrench onto an airplane -- let them go as part of a larger investigation.

[Peter Libra]

I had crossed over into the Upper Penninsula of Michigan on the 21st of August last. I purchased the local newspaper- the Sault Evening News. It informed us that the three men had been given $10,000 dollars bail.

The judge had allowed charges of counterfeit equipment and money laundering. This covers five years and -I believe 20 years for this offence.

The fact that they were removing the server from the trac-phones, meant that they were selling without the integral part. It allowed access without any record, or payment.

Murky stuff indeed. Annually, I go to Petoskey, Michigan, for a little day trip. I have to cross the Mackinac Bridge first. When I have the privilege of crossing this beautiful monument to human endeavor, I will enjoy even more.

What it represents is one of the better things human beings have done. I repeat what I said previously about those who would even hint at harming it,

Bloody Swine.

[PGalt]

Debbie Schlussel is OUTSTANDING. Thanks for posting. BTTT!

[hsalaw]

I wonder if they let them go so they could track them.

I wouldn't be surprised. These may be the guppies; the FBI may be baiting the hooks for the sharks.

[TheCrusader]

Same 'ol story. "There is nothing going on here, move along". Let's face it, the government is terrified of having the citizens find out that islam really isn't a "religion of peace" after all, because then people would have to protect themselves from a threat the government claims doesn't exist. I figured this out long ago, after they said that the two Muslim snipers who killed umpteen Americans in the Virginia area and subsequently devastated the local economy weren't terrorists, and that the anthrax being sent around DC's House and Senate wasn't related to terrorism. Nor was the Muslim who drove his SUV into college students in an attempt at mass murder a terrorist, even though he admitted he was. The Muslim who recently shot six Jewish women wasn't a terrorist either, nor was the Muslim who recently ran down a bunch of pedestrians in California a terrorist, even though he said he was. There are other cases of terrorism on our soil that have been officially declared "random acts of violence by crazy people", but I think I've made the point.

[Niuhuru]

Not just that, but what sort of person 'just happens' to carry around eleven thousand in their wallet? Not too many from what I know.

[conservative in nyc]

There is an arbitrage opportunity with these phones without any terrorist connection. Tracfone sells them for far below cost because they expect to recoup their initial loss on their (arguably) overpriced pre-paid cell phone service. The phones usually only work on Tracfone's network - unless someone uses software to unlock the phone to work on other networks. Doing so is prohibited under Tracfone's shrinkwrap user agreement - when you purchase a phone, you agree to activate service and not alter the software.

The Michigan men were using software to unlock the phones so that they could be used on any network. This increases the value of the phone, since it can be theoretically used on any network around the world. An unlocked phone is worth a lot more than a locked phone. If you don't believe me, just look on Ebay.

The men claimed to be selling the phones to cell phone kiosk retailers in Texas, and some interviewed retailers backed that claim.

The fact is that this behavior isn't new or limited to Muslims. Tracfone sued a Florida business that was essentially doing the same thing and reselling some of the phones in Latin America (where Tracfone's Mexican parent company actually offers pre- and post-paid cell phone service). The business, Sol Wireless, settled out of court with Sol Wireless and got an injunction against them doing it again, potentially setting a precedent for future cases.

If the men were directly or indirectly selling the phones to overseas vendors, they wouldn't need the power cords since many countries use different power plugs than the U.S.

[Rumple4]

I think there's active terrorist activity occurring and being swept under the rug just to keep the administrations' "no attacks since 9-11" record intact. The plane that had the tail fall off days after 9-11, the college kid with the exploding backpack near the stadium, the sniper pair. We've gotten to the point where the madmen are actually screaming "I'm a terrorist" when they attack just to get the credit.

[Rumple4]

I should have just said ditto, didn't read the replys before replying myself.

[ladyinred]

Very good questions, and I hope there are very good answers to them as well. I don't believe this was innocent any more than you do. I do know that many strange acts by people with Arab names are happening and we are being told it is not what we see it to be. I am not sure why, but I just hope the FBI knows what it is doing!

[CyberAnt]

Well .. sometimes they're looking for bigger fish. And .. sometimes the evidence is not strong enough to get a conviction .. even if their noses tell them different. The best plan is to turn them loose and start surveillance on them .. bug their phone and follow them everywhere they go. Usually, eventually, they will slip up and you can get some solid evidence .. enough to convict and/or deport them.

So .. let's not make the mistake of thinking the FBI has dropped the ball. They could have .. but then again .. maybe they're just kicking the ball down the street to see what will turn up.

[Yaelle]

Arabs or people of Arab descent were involved in a lot of the fake purse sales (to people who would then hold "purse parties" to sell to their friends these phony designer purses). But that was obviously an actual business, no matter how illegal. They did it to get money.

I don't see an innocent money-making venture here with these suspicious cellphone purchases. Has anyone ever heard of people you know getting a discount cellphone from some Arab guy in a truck? Because the purse parties were pretty well known (even if most people didn't know their money might have been going to fund terror).