Missouri police are investigating after at least 100 cellphones were purchased at three Walmarts during the past week, local FOX and ABC affiliates reported.
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The Department of Homeland Security’s “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign encourages all Americans to call 911 if they witness something suspicious.
According to the Columbia Police Department, a group of five or more men purchased the phones at about 9:30 p.m.at the Conley Road Walmart in Columbia. “I’m not going to say just because they’re different religion or just because they’re Muslim-but these people were they were foreign speaking then you need to take notice and you need to let us know because it doesn’t hurt to check on it. You’re not being racist or anything like that you’re just protecting yourself”, Laclede County Sheriff Wayne Merritt tells KYTV. An FBI spokeswoman won’t say exactly how much its agents are delving into the purchases. On Thursday, a KSPR reporter went to the Walmart store on South Campbell Avenue in Springfield and tried to buy six cell phones and was told the limit is two; the store employees were not told he is a reporter. They reported it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Police are investigating if the phones were fraudulently purchased. The information will be analyzed and compared to other occurrences throughout the United States. The Lebanon, Mo., police responded and questioned the men but had no reason to detain the two men. The suspects were released after officials had no legal grounds to hold them.
The Washington Post reported authorities said they lacked evidence that the men meant to use the phones to commit criminal acts.
Officers contacted the Missouri Highway Patrol Intelligence Unit to advise them of the situation. According to law-enforcement magazine Officer, such cell phones have been used to detonate roadside bombs in Iraq, and were used to detonate bombs during terrorist attacks in Madrid and London.
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The witness who asked not to be identified, told ABC 17 the “Middle Eastern men” bought the store out of cell phones and paid in cash.
