Counterterrorism Officials Looking for Thieves after Dozens of Propane Tanks Stolen in Philadelphia

The funny stuff continues.

We've had strange purchases all over the country.

1. Propane tank thefts in Missouri
2. Bulk cell phone purchases in Missouri
3. Attempted theft of bulk plumbing supplies in North Carolina
4. Bulk purchase of Kinect sensors in four states

And now we have more propone tank thefts. This time in Phila delphia.

Security footage from the facilities show a man loading 43 tanks of various sizes into a dark-colored minivan, according to sources.

Twenty-four of the tanks are said to be the size and style used to fuel forklifts, sources said. Also taken were nine tanks that hold 100 pounds of fuel, four 50 pound tanks, four 33 pound tanks and two 2 pound tanks, according to sources.

Investigators sent out a bulletin to authorities across Northeast Philadelphia asking them to be on the lookout for the van and thief.

Oh and there is another one, there was also a bulk purchase of ammo and razor blades over Thanksgiving weekend. Back in Missouri again.

Slingshot pellets, razors and ammo were purchased over the Thanksgiving weekend from a Walmart in Lee's Summit. The FBI, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Lee's Summit Police were alerted.

Isn't this the very thing you would need to put inside your pipe bomb?

Are propane tanks practical enough to use as IEDs?

I mean I know they're explosive, but they're not that explosive are they?

Plus they're relatively big and bulky, hard to conceal etc

a reply to: ketsuko

Well yes, those ingredients could be abused in the way you are suggesting.

More likely, they are not related.

What is impressive is the intelligence at work. Patterns are being noticed and certain thefts and purchases are being reported. I wonder if all of these are being reported then fed as data to collate any evidence of patterns?

You seem to be noticing for sure. How very astute. I think you might make a good FBI agent or CIA operative with observations skills like that.

a reply to: Revolution9

Thefts and purchases like these are reported far more often than makes the news. Some happen to get picked up by a blog and reposted and then make national news, the majority don't.

a reply to: Revolution9

I'm not the only one.

A lot of people have been noticing. I just pick up on what others have already pointed out. In many of these reports, it states these were reported to the FBI or Counterterrorism.

Thing is that we have large country where it is easy to move things around the highway system. So things bought in one part of the country can be transported to another part of the country in a day or two.

originally posted by: Prezbo369
Are propane tanks practical enough to use as IEDs?

I mean I know they're explosive, but they're not that explosive are they?

Plus they're relatively big and bulky, hard to conceal etc

Seems not...

Propane tanks do not explode. They do not implode and nor do they rupture or come apart on their own. In fact, bringing a propane tank to the point of "explosion" is a tremendously difficult and time consuming task that's not as simple as most people think. 

Maybe the stuff just went sideways. The US navy does experiments/fecks about/makes rain with propane gas..maybe that's why we are getting soaked in these here parts.

a reply to: ketsuko

Isn't this the very thing you would need to put inside your pipe bomb?

Nah, kids use them in their slingshots and bb guns, for crying out loud. The dudes that stole the propane, well, propane is valuable and lots of people use the stuff.

originally posted by: Prezbo369
Are propane tanks practical enough to use as IEDs?

I mean I know they're explosive, but they're not that explosive are they?

Plus they're relatively big and bulky, hard to conceal etc

en.wikipedia.org...

Missouri terrorists? More like makin Mash up in the woods.
Propane used to heat the still gives off less smoke.

Keeps trailers warm in the winter.

Cooking fuel

Meth labs

a reply to: stormcell

Touché

I bought one of these flame throwers from Harbor Freight a few months ago:


I connected it to a brand new fully fueled propane tank and cranked it all the way up. I got about a 5' flame out of it that sounded like a jet engine.

It wouldn't be a very portable weapon. But a 3600 degree Fahrenheit flame directed at a small crowd of people would produce some nasty, though quite localized, damage. Nice terror weapon.

-dex

are the stolen propane tanks full ?? and if NOT can they be used to put something like SARIN in or something worse ???

Look on youtube, there are videos of people blowing up small propane tanks,by shooting them or setting them on fire, even the little ones make a good size explosion.
a truck or van loaded with propane tanks and set on fire will make a big explosion.

Those little tanks aren`t expensive so I don`t know why someone would steal them instead of just buying them,unless they are up to no good and don`t want to draw attention to themselves by buying a large bulk of propane tanks.

a reply to: Tardacus

None of those videos show exploding propane tanks. When they are shot they rupture and the expelling gas can cause them to act like a projectile but they do not explode. They will not even ignite when shot unless they are ruptured near an open flame.

Counter terrorism by removing the Muslims

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Tardacus

None of those videos show exploding propane tanks. When they are shot they rupture and the expelling gas can cause them to act like a projectile but they do not explode. They will not even ignite when shot unless they are ruptured near an open flame.

Exactly.

Sounds to me like the rednecks got bored and decided to steal propane for fun.

a reply to: Prezbo369

Yes, they can be.

en.wikipedia.org...

This happened in 2010. This is a diagram of the vehicle. The propane is used with the fertilizer...it is a component to the larger picture...

en.wikipedia.org...#/media/File:Timesssquaresuv.jpg

ok - just my opinions :

gas cylinder theft is cyclic [ here in the UK ] - HINT - it is index linked to winter and scrap metal prices

further - a quick google [ ebay // gumtree // freecycle // < insert > " buy and sell " ] reveals 38 gas cylinders for sale within a 50km radius of my home - covertly obtaining cylinders for cash would not be hard for any alledged terror cell

next - it doesnt matter if they are full or empty - refils are easy to obtain cheaply and anonymously - emptying filled cylinders is even easier

as stated by others propane / butane etc etc is not a good explosive

and TBH - gas cylinders make poor bomb casings - thier fragmentation is poor

there are better solutions for bomb cases out there

thats about it - IMHO - NO CREDIBLE THREAT