Let's talk about bombs and explosives....

[catnhatnh]

....as a normal ex-service guy (disclaimer:I was a helicopter mechanic and actually only blew up any thing once using C-4 and an early MK ?? detonator....)Anyhow,we have seen multiple people arrested for buying (and this is an interesting,repeating meme)"1000 cell phones" as being terrorists...a thousand cell phones MIGHT make you a popular nexus of conversation,but without 1000 blasting caps and 1000 measures of an explosive mixtures plus 1000 targets it merely makes you a clueless idiot...lets look at this more closely in terms of what it takes to make "boom"You will need an explosive base-this can be anything from the good shit-ie:C-4 or eastern european pemex to foul low grade shit like amfo-a blend of fertilizers and diesel fuel that it takes a truck full of to make interesting... then,you will need a detonater..and there ARE plenty of these-from simple blasting caps,to the last "pull-tension detonators" I played with way back when...the mother load comes when voltages fire off detonators for the explosives-but for cell phones to do so there must be one more step-detonators never fire on signals only, it will need a stepped up voltage-so a cell phone bomb MUST contain the following....
An explosive mixture.
A detonator,meaning blasting cap or equivalent
A battery pack to fire the detonator.
A modified cell phone to send a detonation signal...

In short,the people arrested are patsies-without access to explosives,detonators,battery packs, and cell phone hackers, the entire deal is a sham-close to saying someone caught buying 1000 peppers is on their way to creating OMELETS...they actually have what MAY be perceived as ingredients-but if they cannot also get a stove,and frying pan,and eggs-then all they have is ...well,peppers...and just maybe they are either fools (their intentions beside) or vegetarians...

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

1. Maybe They Had Good Intentions, Maybe They Didn't.

But it is still worthy of at least minimal investigation.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. Apparently this thing was investigated for the past year.

You might expect that they could do better than this as of today.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

3. It Would Do You Well To Reread The OP.