Believe it or not, a poster on another thread was insisting that these were only Muslims out trying to resell these phones and that it was not terror related.
Wonder how many Islamic plants we have reading this board. And the poster I mentioned has been a member of FR since 2000.
Earlier today- before the bridge info came out- lots of us were speculating on another thread what the possible reasons could be for a purchase of this size(s). And there does seem to be some evidence based on other reports that reselling these phones at a hefty profit IS one way of raising ca$h for ...any number of reasons.
HOWEVER! They can also be used to make IED's...cover communication trails....has this poster been made aware of the bridge involvement?
Wonder how many Islamic plants we have reading this board I don't know if "plants" is the word I'd use, but I've noticed a few posters with conspicuously conservative sounding monikers posting unashamed defenses of Islam. IMO, they are just the arrogant fringe - thinking they can disguise their true motives with "clever" rhetoric - many, many more are just lurking.
Try to keep an open mind about things. Don't get sidelined by the phones' potential use as a detonator - maybe they are intended to be, but it's perfectly possible that they aren't. In any event, something does stink here.
It is possible that these men were only out to resell phone parts to make a profit, while at the same time indirectly aiding and abetting criminal activity. The real key might be tracking their purchasers to get to the real evil doers.
Lithium is used in
meth production, and some states have placed limits on the number of lithium batteries a person can purchase in one day. A bulk supplier of lithium batteries would have a ready market for his product, and should get somewhat of a premium for doing the hard work that meth producers themselves wouldn't want to do.
In addition to being potential IED triggers, the phones themselves are used by terrorists, run-of-the-mill gangs, and organized crime to avoid detection. Those folks wouldn't need new batteries or chargers every time they purchase a new phone, since they already have them. Again, a bulk supplier of phones to nefarious folks might be able to command a premium for doing the hard work of buying these phones in bulk.
The phones themselves might be worth more in parts than they are in whole. Tracfone probably sells the initial units at a loss in order to sell overpriced airtime later.
Tracfone is owned by a Latin American company, and it's remotely possible that these phones are being shipped for use in Latin America, where they might not be as cheap. One local Michigan station interviewed someone standing in line at the Caro Wal*Mart behind the arrested men. He asked the arrested men what they were doing with the phones. The men said that they were selling them to construction workers for a profit.
Believe it or not, a poster on another thread was insisting that these were only Muslims out trying to resell these phones and that it was not terror related.
That is exactly what the muzzie fascists had claimed! Unbelievable, but true!