New from Europe: The Cell Phone Gun

I got this video in my email last week, along with the following text:

Very interesting...

Read this and then watch the video clip..... Double-click on the attachment. You don't want to miss watching the demo.

If you get asked to test your cellphone at the airport, this is the reason.

Because cellphone guns have been discovered. The attached video clip shows how cellphone 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 cellphone."

Although cellphone 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 smuggle 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 cellphones," said Ari Zandbergen, a spokesperson for the Amsterdam police. "Only when you have one in your hand do you realize that they are heavier than a regular cellphone."

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

According to an article in TIME magazine, the guns are made in Croatia. And according to Snopes.com, this video and email have been circulating since 2001. So they have been around for a while. We haven't seen an epidemic of them appearing, so perhaps law enforcement efforts to detect and stop them are having a positive effect.



Related Links:

TIME magazine:
Press M for Murder: Cell Phones That Kill

More Details from SNOPES.COM:
Phoney Guns