A group called Motorists Against Detection claims to have done $40 million worth of damage by destroying 1,000 speed cameras since 2000. The group’s fugitive leader, who identifies himself only as Captain Gatso (after the company that makes the speed cameras), said in a telephone interview that he and his 200 followers had nothing to do with the letter bombs.
“We don’t want to hurt anybody — we only terrorize the government’s cash machines on the side of the roads,” he said, referring to the cameras.
Sounds like an emergent community with minimalist goals – the disruption of some very specific systems. It could transform into a networked tribe. 200 followers is probably an exaggeration – a more realistic estimate is, not coincidentally, closer to 150 (the Dunbar number).
The group’s tactics are spreading into Australia (several cameras destroyed by gunfire recently), and the letter bombs could well be an innovation from one of their members.
