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To: jerseygirl

I have to find hubby's post somewhere here on FR about what he saw when he was flying out of Philly airport in March, he got someone surrounded big time, a Muslim... be back when I find it.


3,151 posted on 05/26/2004 2:37:31 PM PDT by cgk (Social Security: America's only legal Pyramid Scheme.)
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To: jerseygirl; Calpernia
Found it, this is copied and pasted from what hubby wrote on a different thread here on FR. The italics are things others wrote that he responded to:


I witnessed a "dead drop" at Philadelphia Int'l on Monday, March 22. A thin, blue item was left under a seat near the security screening area and was picked up by a young, Arab male (he had to lift the chair to find it, it wasn't in plain sight). He was searched and hauled away within three minutes after I reported him to the head of security (after I was ignored by the first disinterested female security guard I approached).

The scariest part was, in a line of almost 200 people, I was the only person watching the guy. Everybody else seemed afraid to even look at him.

Did you ever figure out what the blue object was?

No, I watched everything from a safe distance. The last thing I wanted was for this guy to be released, recognize me as the paranoid infidel from the line and be stuck on a flight with him. I was already jittery enough about being on a Flight 11 that had originated in Madrid.

The object was about the size of a credit card. When he retieved it, he had his cell phone already out (though he didn't make or receive any calls), and he slipped the card behind his phone (it was in a case) and pocketed the cell immediately.

Did you mention to the other guards that the female didn't react/respond?

Sort of. The first thing I said to the security guy was "I just told the lady checking ID's in line and she didn't seem to care". I can't imagine anything ever came of it. In Philly International, if you talk to two security guards and actually get the attention of one of them, that's a pretty high batting average.

He was guilty of poor tradecraft technique if nothing else, to be witnessed by an alert citizen.

Not only that, but the guy went out of his way to look suspicious. He already looked a lot like a more Middle Eastern Richard Reid to begin with, but he had a black hooded sweatshirt on... and when he took his seat directly opposite the security screeners, he pulled the hood up over his head and eyeballed pretty much everyone in line for a good 60 seconds before he got up and retrieved whatever it was that was waiting for him in the seat next to his.

I was actually surprised that they found anything on him. My initial thought was that he was trying to bait security into harrassing him so he could file a lawsuit.

Then you think back to the 9/11 hijackers bragging about what they were about to do in a bar in Florida on 9/10 and you realize: these guys are evil and cunning, but they're not terribly bright. They're certainly capable of being sloppy.

Would you expand on the details such as how did you attract the attention of the head of security? Did you relate the lack of response by the female guard?

The security kiosk was on the other side of the X-Ray/metal detectors. I just approached him after I cleared security and told him everything I had seen.

I did mention to him that I had brought the situation to the female guard's attention and that she wasn't interested.


That's nearly the entire story as he related it to me, except for what happened when he reported the guy: The security officer thanked him, immediately stood and walked to the suspect. My husband went into the gift shop and watched from through the window, and within there were 10 or so agents surrounding the guy, and a broadcast over the PA for more people to come to that area of the terminal.
3,160 posted on 05/26/2004 2:51:50 PM PDT by cgk (Social Security: America's only legal Pyramid Scheme.)
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