Multiple cell phone purchases at 3 Missouri Walmarts raise suspicions

[Robby999 1,024]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In less than a week, law enforcement agencies in three different Missouri cities have investigated the purchase of large quantities of cell phones at Walmart stores. In two cases, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was contacted.

Last Saturday, KSPR reports that police were called to a Lebanon, Mo., Walmart when two men purchased about 60 cell phones early in the morning. Police tell KSPR that terrorists can use cell phones as bomb detonators in addition to using them for communication, and can be hard to track if prepaid.

KSPR says the men weren’t arrested because police say they hadn’t technically done anything wrong. However, the Laclede County Sheriff’s Office says it contacted the FBI.

An FBI spokesperson told FOX 4 on Wednesday that it’s standard procedure for law enforcement agencies to contact them if they deem something to be suspicious.

On Monday, KMIZ reports that Columbia police say they were alerted to something similar when several men bought dozens of phones at a Walmart late last week, and paid in cash.

“It’s not right, it doesn’t make any sense,” a witness told KMIZ. “Who’s going to order 50 phones for Christmas? Who does that?”

On Wednesday, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating a similar report at a Macon Walmart:

A former coordinator for the Office of Homeland Security in Missouri, Paul Fennewald, told KMIZ that calls to police were warranted in these cases.

“That’s the first thing that ran through my mind that something bad could happen. If I had seen the same thing, I probably would have called somebody also,” he said.

The FBI spokesperson also told FOX 4 that just because they were contacted about a case doesn’t necessarily mean that the FBI is also investigating, and that the calls could come in out of an abundance of caution.

http://fox4kc.com/2015/12/09/multiple-cell-phone-purchases-at-3-missouri-walmarts-raise-suspicions/

I think that was a good call by the Walmart employee, maybe the " See something Say something program may have saved some lives in this case. I highlighted in red the operative words for those who like to twist or misread my posts.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Just a science project . It will turn out that some folks were inventing a clock .Trying to get invited to the Whitehouse.

[Dakine10 5,452]

Good thing they didn't try to buy a few dozen rifles and a several thousand rounds of ammunition. They could have been in and out without anyone batting an eye.

[smilesammich 10,727]

Good thing they didn't try to buy a few dozen rifles and a several thousand rounds of ammunition. They could have been in and out without anyone batting an eye.

lol, you beat me to it.

[Sousuke 1,214]

Good thing they didn't try to buy a few dozen rifles and a several thousand rounds of ammunition. They could have been in and out without anyone batting an eye.

Your right. Oh wait they would have had their names, date of birth, place of birth, social security number, address yada yada.

[Dakine10 5,452]

Your right. Oh wait they would have had their names, date of birth, place of birth, social security number, address yada yada.

Since they haven't committed a crime, and were not arrested, I'm assuming the police have nothing on them at this time.

As we saw in the James Holmes case, you can build a small arsenal in this country and not attract attention. But you cant buy a bunch of phones. At least not if you have a funny accent.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Good thing they didn't try to buy a few dozen rifles and a several thousand rounds of ammunition. They could have been in and out without anyone batting an eye.

Ow lord my stomach hurt

Just wonder if they look Muslimy.

I had some guys buy 40 prepaid phones to send to family members in Mexico back when I worked at Nextell. Not as suspicious as some may think

Edited December 10, 2015 by Janelle2002

[Sousuke 1,214]

Since they haven't committed a crime, and were not arrested, I'm assuming the police have nothing on them at this time.

As we saw in the James Holmes case, you can build a small arsenal in this country and not attract attention. But you cant buy a bunch of phones. At least not if you have a funny accent.

If you bought 7 guns at once (depending on the guns) you probably would alert the ATF, not so much because of terrorism but it is a red flag for straw purchases.

The reason I bring up gun type, is that no one will bat an eye if you buy say 20 Mosin Nagant Rifles.

[Dakine10 5,452]

Ow lord my stomach hurt

Just wonder if they look Muslimy.

I had some guys buy 40 prepaid phones to send to family members in Mexico back when I worked at Nextell. Not as suspicious as some may think

Actually Walmart's store policy is 3 prepaid cell phones per customer. That is in place because people buy them to use in drug deals. Other stores don't have that limit though.

If anything serious does come out of this, they should investigate Walmart for aiding and abetting criminal activity.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Actually Walmart's store policy is 3 prepaid cell phones per customer. That is in place because people buy them to use in drug deals. Other stores don't have that limit though.

If anything serious does come out of this, they should investigate Walmart for aiding and abetting criminal activity.

Won't cell multiple cell phones but will cell guns....

[Robby999 1,024]

The bulk purchases of more than 200 cellphones from seven Missouri Walmarts over the course of a single weekend continues to draw the attention of law enforcement – particularly combined with the theft of more than 48 propane canisters in the state during the same time frame.

There is no information to suggest the suspicious cellphone purchases and propane thefts are related at this time.

Police in Columbia, Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Lebanon, Ava, Jefferson City and Macon have each said they’ve received reports about large numbers of cellphones bought in area Walmarts. The majority of purchases occurred during the late-night hours of Dec. 4 and the early-morning hours of Dec. 5.

Details in some of the cases are sketchy, but at least three dozen phones were purchased at one time in the Macon, Jefferson City, Lebanon and Jackson stores. A “large number” were purchased in Ava, cops said, and “dozens” were purchased in Columbia, ABC17 reported. Ten of the phones were bought at Cape Girardeau, according to the Kansas City Star.

The individuals involved have been reported to be as few as two men in Lebanon and as many as five in Columbia. It’s unclear if all of the cases involve the same people or if they are linked, but the same man reportedly was part of the purchasing group in Ava and Lebanon, which happened a little more than two hours apart on Dec. 5.

That man left a phone in the store bathroom at Ava, prompting authorities to respond.

“While speaking with Walmart employees, the subject who left the phone returned to the store to get it,” the Ava Police Department posted on Facebook. “Officers spoke with the male subject, who was of Middle Eastern descent, and asked for identification, which was provided.”

Officers had no reason to detain the man and he was allowed to leave. Subsequent checks with other local Walmart stores determined the man also had bought phones in Lebanon.

“These people were, they were foreign-speaking,” Laclede County Sheriff Wayne Merritt told KSPR about the men who bought phones at the Lebanon Walmart.

The three purchasers in Jefferson City had “accents,” cops told KRCG, but information on the buyers in other locales is scarce.

Meanwhile, Missouri police also are trying to determine who is behind a series of propane thefts.

A BP gas station in Lee’s Summit reported the theft of 18-20 canisters from an outside cage in late November, according to FOX4KC. A nearby CVS also reported an unknown quantity of stolen canisters the same night.

On Dec. 6, the day after the phone-buying spree is believed to have ended, a CVS in Independence had 28 tanks stolen from a locked cage.

“People take all sorts of things that are odd,” Independence Police Officer John Syme told the Star. “But it’s definitely something that would be a ‘see something, say something’-type situation, where you definitely want to be on higher alert. There’s a lot of different things that can be done with propane tanks.”

Syme added: “It could be a very serious matter. Our intel unit is working with area agencies and discussing it.”

Why the focus on seemingly innocuous items such as propane tanks and cellphones?

Terrorists have long used mobile phones to set off explosive ordinances, and propane tanks have been used in improvised bombs. For example, the thwarted car bomb attack in Times Square in 2010 was set to use four propane tanks as part of the explosive device.

“You need to take notice,” Meritt said. “You need to let us know about it, because it doesn’t hurt to check on it. You’re not being racist or anything like that. You’re just protecting yourself.”

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/13/cops-investigating-more-suspicious-cellphone-buys-propane-tank-thefts/?intcmp=hplnws

[Rob L 3,811]

Actually Walmart's store policy is 3 prepaid cell phones per customer. That is in place because people buy them to use in drug deals. Other stores don't have that limit though.

If anything serious does come out of this, they should investigate Walmart for aiding and abetting criminal activity.

this is true... " people buy them to use in drug deals."

[Dakine10 5,452]

this is true... " people buy them to use in drug deals."

I tried to buy a bunch of the cheapo pay to talk ones on clearance a few years ago. Most of my relatives live in Canada and the wife's in Russia so they come in handy for visitors. And once you don't use them for 30 days, the sim card expires and they are toast. Anyway, they would only let me buy 3 and that was what they told me.

Even at 3 cellphones per store, I'm not sure how effective it is. We've got Walgreen's on every other street corner here, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, malls. Don't think it would take that long to round up a bunch of phones.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Homeland Security deployed hi-tech spy plane which scoops up tens of thousands of phone calls at one time above San Bernardino for days after massacre

• Single engine craft flew over the California city and was ordered to make repeated circles overhead
• It was equipped with 'Dirtbox' technology which can scan tens of thousands of phones in one go to identify suspects
• The Pilatus PC-12 plane that was used - was similar to the craft deployed by the military on missions over Africa
• Map of the flight path for the plane shows numerous circles over the area around terrorist Syed Farook's home in Redlands
• The question of whether or not there were more suspects in the San Bernardino massacre has never been fully resolved

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3356608/So-terrorists-Homeland-Security-deployed-hi-tech-spy-plane-scoops-tens-thousands-phone-calls-one-time-San-Bernardino-days-massacre.html#ixzz3uIddI6eN

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[Dakine10 5,452]

Dirtbox technology? Looks like Snowden was right.