Incident Report

Subject:                         Cell Phone Gun

Date of Email reporting Incident:   20/09/2001

Report Detail:

BE CAREFUL, PEOPLE !
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 Why are airport security people taking a closer look at cell phones?

 Because cell phone guns have been discovered OCONUS.  The attached  video clip shows how cell phone guns operate.

These phones are not in the U.S. yet, but they are in use overseas..
Beneath the digital phone face is a .22 -caliber handgun capable of firing four rounds in rapid succession using the standard telephone keypad. European law enforcement officials are stunned by the discovery of  these deadly decoys.  They say phone guns are changing the rules of  engagement in Europe.

 We find it very alarming, says Wolfgang Dicke of the German Police Union. It means police will have to draw their weapons whenever a person being checked reaches for their cell phone.

 Although cell phone guns have not reached the U.S. yet, the FBI,  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Customs Service say they  have been briefed on the new weapons.  All U.S. ports of entry have been alerted.  These covert weapons were first discovered in October of 2000 when Dutch police came upon a cache during a drug raid in Amsterdam.  In another recent incident, a Croatian gun dealer was caught attempting to smugle  a shipment through Slovenia into Western Europe.  Police say both
 shipments are  believed to have originated in Yugoslavia.  Interpol sent a warning to law enforcement agencies around the world.

 If you didn't know they were guns, you would think they were cell  phones, said Ari Zandbergen, spokesperson for the Amsterdam police.  Only when you  have one in your hand do you realize that they are heavier than a regular cell phone.

 Be patient if security asks to look at your cell phone or turn it on to show  that it works. They have a good reason!

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