On Sunday, July 6, three Boulder residents discovered sophisticated Global Positioning System (GPS) devices attached to the bottom of their cars, apparently used by someone to track the whereabouts of their vehicles.
Mike Nicosia and Rod Coronado (known in animal rights activist circles) found what can only be described as rather sophisticated GPS tracking technology one Sunday morning in early July, whilst attaching a trailer hitch to his car.
Nicosia says he was inside asleep that morning when Coronado discovered the large black devices attached behind the rear bumpers of his and his girlfriend's cars on the driver's side. When Nicosia woke up, Coronado showed him the strange tangles of wires and electronics. Nicosia immediately became curious if such a device had also been planted on his car.
Their suspicions were confirmed by a Boulder based GPS software developer, that the devices attached were indeed GPS tracking units, comprising of a battery pack, GPS antenna, a cellular antenna and a main component box which contained a GPS receiver, a computer chip and a cellular modem. All the components were wired together and attached by powerful magnets to the cars' undersides.
Questions still remain as to who could have planted such devices, or where the information regarding the car's movements was sent, but considering that the device (possibly custom made) could cost in the range of $2000 upward, Coronado says "I believe it was the federal authorities. I think that the technology is beyond that of the private sector. The days of an FBI parked in a dark sedan in front of our house are over."
News source: Boulder Weekly
