A reader emailed on Saturday to let me know that he had personally seen (and reported) two Middle Eastern men purchasing a large quantity of untraceable cell phones at a Sam’s Club store in Tucson, Arizona. Today this incident is in the Tucson news, as police try to locate the men: Tucson authorities looking for 2 Middle Eastern men. (Hat tip: natureboykerry.)

Law enforcement sources confirm to News 4 that Tucson Police have issued an “attempt to locate” on two Middle Eastern men in their 20’s who purchased nearly 50 phones from Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart in Tucson.

Sources say the men made the purchases on Saturday and Sunday.

There’s been a number of arrests nationwide with very similar circumstances.

News 4 is not linking this case with the national cases, but we do want to point out how similar they are.

Arrests have been made in Michigan and Ohio and there are reports of large numbers of cell phones being sold to young men fitting the same description in Wisconsin.

According to our reader, the Sam’s Club manager said they had confirmed 137
phones for Saturday morning alone, not just the 50 reported above.

UPDATE at 8/14/06 6:36:51 pm:

In March last year, LGF reader reaganite sent the following photo from Iraq, with this explanation:

The EOD team leader didn’t know it was an IED. He was just going to do a BIP (Blow in Place) of ordnance. He returned after the explosion to do a post blast investigation and discovered what is in the picture.

This is why these cell phone stories are in the news.