Two men arrested in SC bomb scare charged with possessing incendiary device; Update: Pipe bombs?
posted at 2:51 pm on August 6, 2007 by Allahpundit
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They’re looking at anywhere from two to 15 years in prison, but if the Blotter’s right it may be a huge misunderstanding.
Two Egyptian nationals [Some reports claim one is from Kuwait. -- ed.] stopped for speeding in South Carolina Saturday evening were carrying precursor chemicals, used in improvised bomb-making as well in as model rocketry, lengths of plastic pipe and twists of hobby fuse, and model rocket launchers, according to investigators…
When stopped along I-76 at 6 p.m., about seven miles from a U.S. Navy weapons station, the driver, who said he was a hydro-engineering major at South Florida University, told a deputy he was carrying explosives. When a bomb technician and additional officers arrived, the driver stated he and his passenger were using the materials to make homemade rockets…
In the vehicle, investigators say they found potassium chlorate and sugar, which when combined with a catalyst create what has been dubbed “instant fire” releasing heat, flames and smoke in a spectacular fashion. As a result, they are used in making fireworks and as a fuel for model rockets.
In addition a can of gasoline, PVC pipe, four hobby store brand rocket launchers and hobby store brand fuses were found, investigators said. The four PVC pipes contained an unknown substance. Also taken into evidence was a laptop computer, a GPS unit and Trac cellular telephones.
The GPS unit is a bit odd but it may be they were simply looking for a field to fire rockets from. The one genuinely suspicious detail (well, two, depending upon what they find in the pipes) as first noted by Dan Riehl yesterday is that one of them tried to hide the laptop when they were pulled over. Unless he had some porn on there and was unusually paranoid about the cops finding it, it’s hard to understand why he makes that move.
Anyone here into model rockets, incidentally? How do you transport this stuff if it’s so explosive as to risk a 15-year jail sentence if you get caught with it in your trunk?
Update: Via Dan Riehl, things are starting to look less innocent.
Authorities say two Middle Eastern men arrested near a Navy base had several pipe bombs in their car…
According to an affidavit with his arrest warrant, Mohamed admitted he made the pipe bombs from items he bought at Wal-Mart.
Defense attorney Dennis Rhoad says Mohamed and Megahed have a reason for having the devices, but he declined to comment further during their bond hearing.
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How about they had already set up their rocket attack at a site closer to the base with the cellphones there to launch them after they were far enough away and they were speeding to try to get away faster and further before launching the rocketst that they had already placed before they were stopped? Have the authorities searched any areas closer to the base for pre-placed rockets?
TruthToBeTold on August 7, 2007 at 12:44 AM
I wonder why they didn’t target MacDill instead. I guess college guys will use any excuse to take a road trip.
Mrs. Happy Housewife on August 7, 2007 at 7:22 AM
I live in Myrtle Beach, SC and have driven to and from Florida many times. Their attorney is full of it.
There are many, many beaches that are a lot closer to their college in Florida.
There are huge rural areas in Georgia, the state which sits between Florida and South Carolina.
The quickest and easiest way to drive anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard is Interstate 95. There is even a decently fast route from I-95 to Myrtle Beach, which is absolutely the most popular beach in South Carolina.
The fastest way to any North Carolina beach is to stay on I-95 all the way through South Carolina and head east once you get to North Carolina.
I-95 is a fairly old corridor, and would be plainly marked on every paper map, on every single GPS map device, and every internet map site.
Through South Carolina there are fireworks stands on pratically every I-95 off-ramp, including (as mentioned by someone else before) a huge one in the tourist trap “South of the Border”.
Unless their friend lived in Charleston, Georgetown, Moncks Corner, or Goose Creek, or they were so inept that Stevie Wonder could drive better than them, there is absolutely no reason they should have been 50 miles from I-95, or anywhere near I-26 for that matter. I-26 goes mostly east-west and is used for travel to Columbia, the center and capital of South Carolina.
angryoldfatman on August 7, 2007 at 9:33 AM
crosspatch on August 6, 2007 at 7:45 PM
Now compare your PVC rocket to a Qassam rocket, not much difference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qassam_rocket
doriangrey on August 7, 2007 at 9:45 AM
That’s just one of three explanations of what where they were going.
The first is from the LEO who stopped them, who said they couldn’t explain what they were doing in that area or where they were going. (Which increased the officer’s suspicion, naturally.)
The second one, that you quote, was reported by their attorney, after the arrest. It’s somewhat convenient, since they were, at the point they were stopped, heading north through South Carolina, although that route requires a major detour from the more direct one to the major No. Carolina beaches, described above by angryoldfatman.
The third, reported today in the St. Petersburg Times, is from Megahed’s family, who live in Tampa, as reported by the head of Tampa CAIR chapter:
Pardon my cynicism, but since the lawyer, CAIR and the family seem to have covered all the bases on where they were going, I imagine they are now conferring on the most plausible explanation of what they were doing with the “stuff” in the trunk.
Nichevo on August 7, 2007 at 10:46 AM
Well, look at the bright side. If they really were trying to launch those rockets for an attack on that base and that happenes to be the best they can do, then we are really in pretty good shape. After all I’d rather they be buying their terror material at wal-mart than from Iran.
boomer on August 7, 2007 at 7:54 PM
Their attorney said they wanted to launch the rockets from a beach? Is that legal? I mean, you have a roughly 50-50 chance of the things coming down in the ocean, I can’t see the Coast Guard and the EPA being too keen on that happening.
Also, are they registered rocketeers? Are they participating members of there local rocket club?
Another question: As non-citizens, is it even legal for them to have the explosives for the rocket motors in the first place?
To be fair, I don’t see the attorney’s explanation as being contradictory to the family’s. And last I checked, it’s almost a required ritual for college guys to go off on long half-planned road trips and do whatever comes up along the way.
They could be innocent (relative to the terror suspicion), but given their foreign status, religion, college of origin, and the fact that at least one is an engineering major (remember terrorists prefer engineering or medical degrees), I think a strong dose of suspicion and investigation is warranted. Not enough for an indictment, maybe, but certainly for bunch of search warrants.
Lancer on August 8, 2007 at 12:30 AM
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