Free Republic

Over the years I have read stories on FR about reports of muslim males buying huge numbers of pre-paid cell phones, often triggering calls to law enforcement. While I don't generally discount reports from local media outlets (remember the OU bombing?), it seems crazy that this would be going on with nary a peep from other sources. Here is my odd story about this. ~3 months ago I was in New Orleans, and purchased a prepaid cell phone at a story on Royal street almost at canal (quarter-side). The store proprietors were obviously muslim, don't know if pak. or arab....

http://www.crossville-chronicle.com/local/local_story_172234222.html Russians with 105 pre-paid cell phones draw attention of police. This story caught my attention. What is with all the bulk cell phone buyers?

A bulk purchase of disposable cell phones across The South Plains is turning into a federal investigation. Muleshoe authorities have questioned a man, who according to police reports, confesses to buying 60 pre-paid cell phones that might later be used to detonate bombs in the Middle East. The man reportedly bought the phones from stores like Dollar General, Family Dollar and even Wal-mart's across the region. Lubbock is included in the towns he confessed to buying the phones in. Again, in police reports he admits to a store manager the cell phones would eventually be used as bomb detonators in...

Hartford City, IN — The Indiana Homeland Security department was notified about the cell phone purchases. Two men have been questioned in Hartford City, Indiana. 22-year-old Bilal Muhamed Mustafa and 29-year old Sultan Allah Muhammond came to the Alco discount store looking to buy a particular model Nokia Trac phone in bulk. Terrorism experts say Tracphones can't be traced and are known to be used by terrorists as detenators for bombs. "Oh I was suspicious," said Alco Store Manager, Kenny Mazelin. " They always said after 9/11 be vigilant with cell phones sales and that we should contact somebody." That's...

Local probe may have federal link By Brad Bauer, bbauer@mariettatimes.com Airport security information and airline manifests were among the items seized from two Michigan men arrested Tuesday in Marietta, now being held on felony terrorism charges. Federal authorities were working Wednesday evening to determine the significance of the documents. “We also found instructions detailing how to access certain airline databases,” said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks. “We passed all that information along to the FBI, and they’re reviewing it as we speak.” Although the findings have caused authorities some concern, the documents do not relate to terrorism charges filed Wednesday...

(AP) DALLAS -- The wife of one of three Texas men arraigned on terrorism-related charges in Michigan says her husband and his relatives are not terrorists, but are simply trying to make money by reselling cell phones. "They're locked up in jail for something that they didn't do," 20-year-old Lina Odeh told The Associated Press on Saturday. Her husband, Louai Abdelhamied Othman of Mesquite, along with his brother, Adham Abdelhamid Othman of Dallas, and their cousin Maruan Awad Muhareb of Mesquite, are charged with collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes....

Tuscola County prosecutors filed terrorism-related charges Saturday against three men who they say bought dozens of cell phones Friday in Caro in a globally coordinated plot involving the Mackinac Bridge. They charged brothers Adham Abdelhamid Othman, 21, and Louai Abdelhamied Othman, 23, along with their cousin, Maruan Awad Muhareb, 18, with identical counts of collecting material to support terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target with intent to committ terrorism.

(TV5) -- While FBI agents pour into Caro another incident breaks out in Gratiot County. At approximately 11:35am August 11th police were called to the Dollar General Store in Ithaca after a" clerk in Ithaca became suspicious after two men came into the store, and became upset when they were turned down while trying to buy several disposal cell phones. TV5's Mike Terry spoke with the clerk who called police. She said they were two "Middle Eastern" men and said they've been coming into the store weekly and buying disposable cell phones. She said the same thing was happening at...

Around 1:00am August 11th three men purchased cell phones from the Wal-Mart store on M-81 near the corner of M-24 in Caro. Wal-Mart places a limit on the number of cell phones that can be purchased at once, that number is three. The three men allegedly bought 80 by purchasing them three at time so that an alert wouldn't be triggered by the cash register. They also paid cash. An alert clerk grew suspicious and called Tuscola County central dispatch. The Caro Police Department sent a unit and stopped the rented van on M-81 just east of Caro. The suspects...

MARIETTA, Ohio - Two men were charged Wednesday with money laundering in support of terrorism after authorities said they found airplane passenger lists and information on airport security checkpoints in their car. Deputies stopped Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, 20, and Ali Houssaiky, 20, both of Dearborn, Mich., on a traffic violation Tuesday. They found the flight documents along with $11,000 cash and 12 phones in the car, said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks.

Jakarta (dpa) - Indonesia ordered users of pre-paid cellular phone to be registered, a move aimed at aiding its efforts to combat terrorism, local media reports said Saturday. Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil said a decision to register the prepaid cellular phone users was in anticipation of electronic crimes ranging from scams to terrorism. He said the registration process would start on Saturday and be completed by early April next year. "There have been many complaints by people from housewives to state officials on electronic crimes. Therefore, the government decided to identify prepaid (phone) card users," the state-run...

DALLAS -- A Target store employee alerted Dallas police to a recent extraordinary cellular telephone equipment purchase. A man bought $60,000 worth of hard-to-trace prepaid cell phones. The size of the purchase raised suspicions among police investigators, who turned over the case to the FBI. "Those notifications are taken seriously," former FBI agent Danny Defenbaugh said. "Anytime a business or private citizen sees that type of activity, they need to go the extra step and notify law enforcement." The large purchase caused investigators to look toward possible homeland security threats. On two occasions during October, a man of Middle Eastern...