Secret Service agents dismantle network that could shut down New York cellphone system

U.S. Secret Service agents have dismantled a network of electronic devices at multiple locations around New York City that could be used to disable the city's cellphone network, officials said Tuesday.

U.S. Secret Service agents have dismantled a network of electronic devices at multiple locations around New York City that could be used to disable the city's cellphone network, officials said Tuesday. They said the system was also used to anonymously convey assassination threats against senior U.S. officials and for criminal activities.

In five locations within 35 miles of New York, Secret Service agents discovered more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards, officials said. They said the system could also be used for criminal activity and that 80 grams of cocaine, illegal firearms, computers and cellphones were also found.

"These devices allowed anonymous, encrypted communications between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises, enabling criminal organizations to operate undetected," Matt McCool, the head of the Secret Service New York Field Office, said in a video statement released Tuesday morning. "This network had the potential to disable cellphone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City."

McCool said that officials were investigating whether the people who created the network planned to use it to disrupt the United Nations General Assembly, which is taking place this week in New York.

Signal devices seized by the Secret Service in New York City on Monday. U.S. Secret Service“These recovered devices no longer pose a threat to the New York tristate area,” he said. “We will continue working towards identifying those responsible and their intent, including whether their plan was to disrupt the U.N. General Assembly and communications of government and emergency personnel during the official visit of world leaders in and around New York City.”