Disposable Cell Phones Raise Red Flags
 Mobile Video Tapes
| | Disposable cell phones have raised red flags with the federal authorities, because they're popular with criminals and terrorists. |
Weslaco, TX - Looks like terrorism charges will be dropped against three Texas men found with 1,000 of disposable cell phones.
At about $20, they're easy to buy and hard to trace. Disposable cell phones have raised red flags with the federal authorities, because they're popular with criminals and terrorists.
NEWSCHANNEL 5 decided to do some investigating.
Scanning dozens of online blogs, we found page after page of recent cases involving disposable cell phones, beginning with what NEWSCHANNEL 5 exposed a few months ago.
Our cameras were there when FBI agents investigated the sale of 20 Trac phones. Men, described as Middle Eastern, hit several different stores in Brownsville and a Target store in Harlingen to buy the phones.
Buying and selling the phones is perfectly legal, but it raises suspicions in our post-9/11 world.
Last week in Marietta, Ohio, two Middle Eastern men were held on terror charges. During a routine traffic stop, cops found airplane passenger lists, information on airport security checkpoints, $11,000 cash, and 12 phones.
Just yesterday, prosecutors dropped the charges, saying they cannot prove a terrorism link.
Also on August 9th in Antigo, Wisconsin, three men were questioned by the FBI after buying 90 cell phones at four different stores. The feds found no ties to terrorism.
On August 11 in Caro, Michigan, three Middle Eastern men from Dallas were arrested on terrorism charges. Cops found almost 1,000 cell phones and thought the men may have been targeting a nearby bridge.
Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors moved to drop the charges, saying they could prove no link to terrorism.
In Ithaca, New York, there were reports of two Middle Eastern men buying disposable phones every week at Dollar General stores. A clerk called the cops, but the men took off before they arrived.
Then on August 14 in Tucson, Arizona, police searched for two Middle Eastern men, who bought nearly 50 Trac phones from Sam's Club and Wal-Mart. They're still at large.
NEWSCHANNEL 5 obtained a security memo from Statfor, a global intelligence agency based in Austin.
In the memo, it says disposable cell phones have been used by terrorists to blow up bombs in the past. But more likely, people are buying these, so they can sell them overseas on the Black Market.
According to Stratfor, there's also intelligence that the money made from selling these phones could be helping pay for terrorist activity in the middle east. |
Vallarta Weddings
Technology News | August 2006 
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us