As world leaders converged on New York for the U.N. General Assembly, the U.S. Secret Service quietly took down a massive covert telecom network lurking inside 35 miles of Manhattan. What looked like a high-stakes spy thriller was actually rows of servers and stacks of SIM cards – over 300 SIM servers and 100,000+ active SIM cards.

According to a report from the Police 1 website, investigators say the network could have overloaded cell towers, jammed 911 lines, and flooded communications – effectively hobbling New York’s phone systems at the city’s most vulnerable moment. Just as chilling: it could broadcast up to 30 million texts per minute.

Federal agents say the bulk telecom setup also enabled encrypted, anonymous communication between foreign actors and criminal groups – including cartels and terror networks. Though there’s no confirmed plot to target the U.N. itself, the timing and location raised urgent concerns.

The investigation is just getting started. Forensic teams are now combing through data from what amounts to 100,000 phone accounts. No arrests have been made – yet.

Officials emphasize the threat in New York is neutralized – for now. Still, they caution that similar networks could lurk elsewhere, and caution remains high.

The episode serves as a warning shot: in the digital age, it doesn’t take missiles or bombs to throw a city into chaos – just a hidden warehouse stuffed with SIM cards. Whether this was a dry run, a money-making scheme, or a prelude to something darker, one thing is certain: the cat-and-mouse game between law enforcement and shadowy telecom operators is likely only just beginning.