A couple of men walk into a Wal-Mart and purchase 50 pre-paid cell phones. It's not a joke. It's something that law enforcement takes very seriously -- so much so that the FBI has been contacted for that very issue.
A number of suspicious purchases of pre-paid cellphones have been reported recently in other Missouri cities.
Missouri law-enforcement officials became suspicious and alerted the FBI after a small number of men bought more than 100 prepaid, disposable cellphones from Wal-Mart stores in three cities in a 24-hour period.
Two men who bought roughly 60 phones last week in Lebanon in southwestern Missouri were questioned by police and released. At least one man was seen on security footage playing a role in buying 32 cellphones Saturday at a Wal-Mart in Macon.
Five or more men were reported to have bought an unspecified number of the phones the night of Dec. 4 in Columbia.
By the middle of last week, authorities in both Cape Girardeau and Jackson reported a combined total of more than 50 pre-paid phones being purchased in both locations. Both law enforcement agencies contacted the FBI.
Reports of such bulk purchases are odd, and they lead one to wonder what the significance of such a purchase might be.
"Use your imagination," said Dexter Police Cpt. Det. Trevor Pulley. "It could be any number of reasons. None of those reasons are good."
Pulley said the alarm felt by many people in law enforcement concerning the bulk purchases is understandable. Among other things, the cell phones may be used to remotely detonate an explosive device.
The FBI confirmed that they had been contacted regarding the purchases, but nothing further has been said regarding the situation. As of yet, no information about the men who made the different purchases has been released.
"These pre-paid phones are also known as 'burners,'" Pulley explained. "They're called burners because, if you have extras, you can just go from one to another at will."
Pre-paid cell phones present the difficulty of not having any personal information of the phone's owner, due to there being no contract. But the phone's signal and number can still be tracked.
"The bulk purchases don't necessarily have something to do with terrorism," Pulley remarked. "It could. We just don't know at this point."
Pulley went on to explain that "burner phones" have long been favored and used by the criminal element due to their convenience.
"Like everyone else says: if you see something, say something," Pulley advises. "If you're at Wal-Mart and you see someone buying a couple of phones, that's not alarming. If you see someone buying 10 or more, that's definitely cause for alarm. That's when you should definitely contact us."
Pulley encourages anyone who sees such suspicious activity to contact the Dexter Police Department at 573-624-5512.