MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
Were they targeted because they are of Arab descent, or is it just based upon their behavior? Or both? Would anyone buying that many cell phones be targeted, be a suspect, be arrested? I would certainly hope so, but honestly I don't know for sure.
"Tuscola County prosecutor Mark E. Reene told the Saginaw News in Michigan that investigators believe the men were targeting the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas. He declined to say what led investigators to that belief."
I would assume they have evidence to back up this belief.
By Jamie Stengle, Associated Press | August 14, 2006
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 cellphones.
``They're locked up in jail for something that they didn't do," said Lina Odeh, 20.
Her husband, Louai Abdelhamied Othman of Mesquite, his brother, Adham Abdelhamid Othman of Dallas, and their cousin, Maruan Awad Muhareb of Mesquite, were arraigned Saturday on charges of collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes.
Police found about 1,000 cellphones in the men's minivan. Authorities have not said what they believe the men intended to do with the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones.
But the police chief in Caro, Mich., where they were arrested, said cellphones 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.
The arrests in Michigan 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.
Odeh said the men arrested in the Michigan case 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.
Odeh said she thought her husband and her relatives were targeted because of their Arab descent. The men's families hail from Jerusalem, she said.
The men were stopped early Friday about 80 miles north of Detroit after purchasing 80 cellphones from a Wal-Mart. Police said they found about 1,000 phones in their minivan. The men were arrested that afternoon.
No pleas were entered at the arraignment at a district court in Caro. A magistrate set bond at $750,000 apiece and the men were being held at the Tuscola County Jail, police said.
``All we did is buy the phones to sell and make money," Louai Othman told the magistrate. He said authorities had previously stopped the group in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Muhareb told the magistrate he was selling the phones to earn money to help pay for his brother's college education.
Tuscola County prosecutor Mark E. Reene told the Saginaw News in Michigan that investigators believe the men were targeting the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas. He declined to say what led investigators to that belief.
Reene and the FBI did not return phone messages.
Odeh said the family is working to get a lawyer for the men. ``I just want everyone to know that they're innocent and they shouldn't be locked up in jail without any evidence," she said.
A pretrial hearing has been set for Friday and a preliminary exam for Aug. 24.
In the Ohio case, Ali Houssaiky and Osama Abulhassan, both 20 and from the 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 tomorrow.
Defense lawyers said Houssaiky and Abulhassan planned to resell the phones to make money. They say the men were targeted because they are of Arab descent.
"Tuscola County prosecutor Mark E. Reene told the Saginaw News in Michigan that investigators believe the men were targeting the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas. He declined to say what led investigators to that belief."
I would assume they have evidence to back up this belief.
By Jamie Stengle, Associated Press | August 14, 2006
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 cellphones.
``They're locked up in jail for something that they didn't do," said Lina Odeh, 20.
Her husband, Louai Abdelhamied Othman of Mesquite, his brother, Adham Abdelhamid Othman of Dallas, and their cousin, Maruan Awad Muhareb of Mesquite, were arraigned Saturday on charges of collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes.
Police found about 1,000 cellphones in the men's minivan. Authorities have not said what they believe the men intended to do with the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones.
But the police chief in Caro, Mich., where they were arrested, said cellphones 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.
The arrests in Michigan 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.
Odeh said the men arrested in the Michigan case 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.
Odeh said she thought her husband and her relatives were targeted because of their Arab descent. The men's families hail from Jerusalem, she said.
The men were stopped early Friday about 80 miles north of Detroit after purchasing 80 cellphones from a Wal-Mart. Police said they found about 1,000 phones in their minivan. The men were arrested that afternoon.
No pleas were entered at the arraignment at a district court in Caro. A magistrate set bond at $750,000 apiece and the men were being held at the Tuscola County Jail, police said.
``All we did is buy the phones to sell and make money," Louai Othman told the magistrate. He said authorities had previously stopped the group in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Muhareb told the magistrate he was selling the phones to earn money to help pay for his brother's college education.
Tuscola County prosecutor Mark E. Reene told the Saginaw News in Michigan that investigators believe the men were targeting the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas. He declined to say what led investigators to that belief.
Reene and the FBI did not return phone messages.
Odeh said the family is working to get a lawyer for the men. ``I just want everyone to know that they're innocent and they shouldn't be locked up in jail without any evidence," she said.
A pretrial hearing has been set for Friday and a preliminary exam for Aug. 24.
In the Ohio case, Ali Houssaiky and Osama Abulhassan, both 20 and from the 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 tomorrow.
Defense lawyers said Houssaiky and Abulhassan planned to resell the phones to make money. They say the men were targeted because they are of Arab descent.