The Van of a Thousand Cell Phones

by **ParisianAttackMonkey** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 4:45 am

Correct me if I'm wrong but if they were planning to use a cell phone as a detonator wouldn't they need, let's see, a, one cell phone, maybe two or three tops, not 1,000. And wouldn't they also need detonating caps, timers and maybe some kind of...explosives too? Or are these those rare cellphones made of gelatinous dynamite. Quite popular with the kids these days. I wonder, do you think the man in Texas is named Raul? Didn't James Earl Ray do a lot of this kind of travelin'. Maybe someone can draw a parallel and figure what they could have been doing in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and now Michigan. What did Garrison call this - sheep dipping.<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"> 3 Texas men arraigned on terror charges CARO, Mich. - Three Texas men were arraigned Saturday on terrorism-related charges after police found about 1,000 cell phones in their minivan, and prosecutors say they believe the men were targeting a bridge connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas. But two of the men said they were only trying to buy and sell phones to make money, and one said the money was intended to help pay for his brother's college education. A magistrate set bond at $750,000 for each of the men, who are charged with collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes. No pleas were made at the arraignment at a District Court in Caro, about 80 miles north of Detroit. Officials have not said what they believe the men intended to do with the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones. But Caro's police chief said cell phones can be used as detonators, and prosecutors in a similar case in Ohio have said that TracFones are often used by terrorists because they are not traceable. "All we did is buy the phones to sell and make money," Louai Abdelhamied Othman told the magistrate. He said authorities had previously stopped the group in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. "We've been checked by the FBI before," he said. "They even gave us their card and everything." Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark E. Reene told The Saginaw News that investigators believe the men were targeting the 5-mile long Mackinac Bridge. He declined to say what led investigators to that belief. Reene and the FBI did not return phone messages Saturday to The Associated Press. Othman and Maruan Awad Muhareb, both of Mesquite, Texas, and Adham Abdelhamid Othman, of Dallas, were stopped before dawn Friday after they purchased 80 cell phones from a Wal-Mart in Caro. Police said they found about 1,000 cell phones in their minivan. Adham and Louai Othman are brothers and are in their early 20s. Muhareb, 18, is their cousin. All are being held at the Tuscola County Jail, Caro police said. Muhareb told the magistrate: "This is a misunderstanding." He said he was selling the phones to earn money to help pay for his brother's college education. Louai Othman's wife, Lina Odeh, said the men were buying the phones to sell to a man in Dallas for a profit of about $5 per phone. She said they were in Michigan because so many people in the Dallas area are doing the same thing that the phones are often sold out. "I just want everyone to know that they're innocent and they shouldn't be locked up in jail without any evidence," she told The Associated Press. The arrests in Caro came three days after two men were arrested in Marietta, Ohio, where police said they aroused suspicions when they acknowledged buying about 600 phones in recent months at stores in southeast Ohio. Ali Houssaiky and Osama Abulhassan, both 20 and from Detroit suburb of Dearborn, have been charged with two felonies — money laundering in support of terrorism and soliciting or providing support for acts of terrorism — and misdemeanor falsification. A preliminary hearing on the felony counts was set for Tuesday. Defense lawyers said Houssaiky and Abulhassan planned to resell the phones simply to make money. They say the men were targeted only because they are of Arab descent.

by **Dreams End** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 12:34 pm

How do you blow up a bridge with a thousand cell phones?* *The above question is designed purely for informational purposes and should no way be interpreted as involving the creation of a plan to commit acts of terrorism.

by **The Omega Man** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 12:42 pm

In their mania to propagate fear and irrational panic, apparently 1000 of anything and people of Arab descent equals terror plot. So 1000 tongue depressors would equal a surreptitious attack on doctors and medical facilities, 1000 comic books equals malicious propaganda distribution. Guess these days it's scan for the anomaly and frame the nearest group to the Homeland Security racial profile. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=theomegaman@rigorousintuition>The Omega Man</A> at: 8/13/06 10:44 am

by **chiggerbit** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 2:31 pm

"...the men were buying the phones to sell to a man in Dallas for a profit of about $5 per phone. She said they were in Michigan because so many people in the Dallas area are doing the same thing that the phones are often sold out.... So, what the heck is this all about? Doesn't Texas have its own Wal-Marts? Heck, it's probably the survivalists. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=chiggerbit@rigorousintuition>chiggerbit</A> at: 8/13/06 12:33 pm

by **OnoI812** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 4:07 pm

I'd place a wager that Walmart and other wholesalers buy and ship more than a thousand phones at a time. wonder when charges will be brought againsi them? this just proves that the people running things are against citizenry capitalism and only like supply and demand when they're in control of it.

by **Sepka** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 10:30 pm

They're pretty obviously up to something dishonest. TracFone sells their telephones by mail order, for the same price you'd pay in Wal-Mart. I'd be astonished if there weren't a substantial price break when ordering 1000 units. It makes no sense to begin with that their buyer would pay a $5 markup on each unit when he could get them himself directly from TracFone. It makes less sense that our budding businessmen would spend time and money tooling around the country buying phones at retail rather than just ordering a pallette load at a discount, delivered to their house. -Sepka the Space Weasel

by **yesferatu** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:38 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>apparently 1000 of anything and people of Arab descent equals terror plot. <hr></blockquote> LOL! Of course, Jews or xians caught with a thousand cell phones in a van would simply be entrepreneurial goings-ons.

by **pugzleyca3** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:49 am

I heard one news broadcast about this and when they were found by police, these "terrorists" were in the van opening the boxes with BOX CUTTERS! Imagine that. I am not kidding. Oh, and to answer someone's question about having a pallet of these phones delivered, what I've found is that in order to buy wholesale, especially from big companies, you are required to have a business license/ tax exempt number and a store front. To play with the big boys on something like wholesale cell phone purchases, you'd probably have to place an order the size of Wal-Mart's before they would even talk to you. If they are simply entrepenuers, their re-selling goods like this sounds legit and I know people in my business who try to buy items retail and re-sell retail all the time. Though, they usually don't do too well in finding buyers because their prices are too high. And they don't have licenses or tax exempt numbers or the money to buy big. Ordering by mail order would negate any profit they might make because of shipping charges that would be incurred. It would probably cost 4 to 10 dollars per phone just for shipping I would imagine, depending on the vendor. Maybe they had an ignorant buyer, who knows? Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=pugzleyca3>pugzleyca3</A> at: 8/14/06 12:56 am

by **Sepka** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:26 am

pugzleyca2 said: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Ordering by mail order would negate any profit they might make because of shipping charges that would be incurred. It would probably cost 4 to 10 dollars per phone just for shipping I would imagine, depending on the vendor.<hr></blockquote> TracFone includes shipping in the cost. You can get the phone delivered to your house for the exact same price that you'd pay at Wal-Mart. I bought one myself, as they're an excellent value for people who seldom use the phone. Admittedly, I didn't attempt to purchase multiples, but my personal experience in buying quantity lots has been that most companies are happy to do so, and happy to give the price break. It's always cheaper per unit to sell and ship a thousand of an item than a single item. Tax ID numbers enter into it only if you indicate that you are tax exempt or deferred (i.e., a charity, or an established business such as Wal-Mart buying for resale). Individuals buying for resale pay the taxes up front, and are expected to report their dealings honestly on their tax returns. -Sepka the Space Weasel

by **chiggerbit** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:36 am

I think it's survivalists getting ready for the next big one. Or else someone has figured out a way for adulterers to make calls to the honey without going through the family cell phone. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/roll.gif ALT=":rollin"> Or it could be for drug pushers. Let's see if the cops or the defense are able to track down this "alleged" buyer. If he is for real, I bet he is shitting his pants.

by **shaver** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 4:33 pm

During the last season of The Wire (best show on tv!) they focused a good deal on these trac phones (burners). Apparently its possible to track these phones from manufacturing to middleman to a regular store. Since the gang knew of this, they had one of their soldiers drive up and down the roads from north Baltimore to DC picking up the phones. He then brings the cell phones back along with the receipts to prove that he bought them at different stores. So essentially the cops are less likely to pin-point which of the phones were sold to them and which went to some other customer. One time the soldier is with his girl and she's wanting to do some shopping or something, so he gets lazy and buys a big batch at just one store. Well the cops tracked tit down to this one store and found that the guy bought these phones from there. So the cops approach the company looking for the phone numbers. The VP declines, but is then strong-armed by the cops with the threat of a press conference saying the company is in bed with the drug dealers so the company gives in. Maybe they're just playing the part of middle-men?

by **knowbuddysfool** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 2:33 am

The Detroit Free Press reported that they found pictures of the Mackinac Bridge in the van. Hmmm... there is a Labor Day Bridge Walk that the Michigan Governor usually ceremonially attends and the bridge would be loaded with tourists...Omigosh! They are trying to play up my paranoia of driving across suspension bridges!! As if my fear of flying and heights weren't enough! FWIW, my neighbors are planning on attending the Bridgewalk shindig as they do every year. Don't let the fearmongerer's win. FWIW pt. 2: the Detroit Free Press initially reported the girl in that G.I. rape case in Iraq's age as "in her 20's". I don't even know why my husband reads it. It just gets my blood pressure up within the first page and a half. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=knowbuddysfool>knowbuddysfool</A> at: 8/15/06 1:11 am

by **Lizzy Dearborn** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:28 pm

Front page of our Tues. Detroit paper says in huge letters "CHARGES DROPPED" <a href="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/METRO/608150349/1003" target="top">www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/METRO/608150349/1003</a> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>And in Ohio, federal authorities said they were dropping felony terrorism charges against two Arab-American men from Dearborn.<hr></blockquote> Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=lizzydearborn>Lizzy Dearborn</A> at: 8/15/06 4:29 pm

by **Lizzy Dearborn** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:40 pm

<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/pimp.gif ALT=":hat"> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Hooked on hookahs Mike Dahlberg is not old enough to smoke, but he picked up the vice while looking for new ways to have fun with friends. Dahlberg, 17, didn't turn to cigarettes. Like an increasing number of teens and young adults in Metro Detroit, he was drawn to the hookah, an ornate water pipe popular in the Middle East that's used to smoke fruit-flavored tobacco. "It's a growing threat for our state, for Michigan, and down the road will mean higher health care costs as (users) develop the diseases that come from smoking," said Virginia Hill Rice, a professor at Wayne State University College and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute <hr></blockquote> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/eyes.gif ALT=":rolleyes"> <a href="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/METRO/608150352/1003">www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/METRO/608150352/1003</a> "Omigosh! They are trying to play up my paranoia of driving across suspension bridges!! As if my fear of flying and heights weren't enough!" I've been wondering about all the "sea sickness" on cruise ships of late. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=lizzydearborn>Lizzy Dearborn</A> at: 8/15/06 4:46 pm

The Van of a Thousand Cell Phones

The Van of a Thousand Cell Phones

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Trac phones

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Well, have no fear...uhh...wait. Still scary!!!!

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