CARO, Mich. - The FBI said
Monday it had no information to indicate that the three Texas men arrested with
about 1,000 cell phones in their van had any direct connection to known
terrorist groups.
Also, a prosecutor in a separate Ohio case said he can't prove a terrorism
link to two men arrested after buying large numbers of cell phones and will drop
terrorism charges against them.
In the Michigan case, authorities had increased patrols on the 5-mile-long
Mackinac Bridge after local prosecutors said investigators believed the men were
targeting the span.
Local authorities didn't say what they believed the men intended to do with
the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones, but Caro's police chief noted
that cell phones can be untraceable and used as detonators.
The FBI issued a news release Monday saying there is no imminent threat to
the bridge linking Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.
The release also said the FBI had no information indicating that the men,
Palestinian-Americans living in Texas, had any direct links to any known
terrorist groups or to the alleged plot to bomb trans-Atlantic jetliners that
was announced in London last week.
William Kowalski, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit
field office, said authorities believe concern about the bridge was connected to
images of the Mackinac Bridge found on a digital camera belonging to the men.
Kowalski said there was nothing illegal about buying cell phones in bulk, but
that profits from that kind of activity can be suspicious.
Adham Abdelhamid Othman, 21, of Dallas, and Maruan Awad Muhareb, 18, and
Louai Abdelhamied Othman, 23, both of Mesquite, Texas, were stopped by police
Friday outside a Wal-Mart store in Caro, about 80 miles north of Detroit after
employees became suspicious when they purchased about 80 cell phones.
Local prosecutors charged them with collecting or providing materials for
terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes.
The men told a magistrate Saturday that they were buying the phones for
resale.
Louai Othman's wife, Lina Odeh, told The Associated Press on Saturday that
she thought her husband and relatives were targeted because of their Arab
descent. She said the men's families come from Jerusalem.
Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark E. Reene said Monday that representatives of
his office and Caro police had met with Sunday with officials from the FBI, the
Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. attorney's office. He said all the
agencies were working together on the investigation.
Messages seeking further comment from Reene were not immediately returned.
In Ohio, prosecutor James Schneider said he didn't have enough evidence to
present felony terrorism charges for Ali Houssaiky and Osama Abulhassan, both of
Dearborn, Mich., to a grand jury.
The two men face a misdemeanor count of falsification accusing them of lying
about why they bought the phones, Schneider said.
"We're grateful the Washington County Prosecutor's Office has been willing to
keep an open mind and look at all the evidence and make their decisions based on
the evidence," said William Swor, who is representing Houssaiky.
The FBI is reviewing the Ohio case and staying in touch with local
authorities. No federal charges are pending, said special agent Mike Brooks of
the FBI.
Authorities stopped the men on a traffic violation in Marietta, Ohio, on Aug.
8 and said they found airplane passenger lists and information on airport
security checkpoints, along with $11,000 cash and 12 phones, in their car.
Abulhassan and Houssaiky admitted buying about 600 phones in recent months at
stores in southeast Ohio and selling them to someone in Dearborn.
Defense attorneys said the government had no evidence the phones were being
used illegally and the men planned to resell the phones simply to make money.
They also said the airport and airplane information were old papers left in the
car by a relative who worked at an airport.
