The security service Secret service has found and seized over 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers, reports The New York Times.
The equipment could have been used to overload the telecommunications network, knock out mobile towers and restrict the possibility of contacting the emergency services, according to Secret service. The network is said to have been capable of sending 30 million anonymous text messages per minute.
It is described as one of the largest telecommunications threats discovered on American soil. According to Matt McCool at Secret service's New York office, the network could have caused "a disaster".
It must not be underestimated what this system is capable of doing, he says to AP.
The raid takes place at the same time as world leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly, which gets underway in earnest on Tuesday. The authorities are now investigating whether the target may have been to disrupt or strike at the major event.
