The $80 million fake bomb-detector scam - and the people behind it

[webfact]

The $80 Million Fake Bomb-Detector Scam—and the People Behind It
When Baghdad bought tens of millions of dollars’ worth of British-made A.D.E. 651s, advertised as a foolproof bomb detector, the Iraqi government thought it would be saving countless lives. But the devices were laughable—based on a toy—and, in the end, have led to many deaths. Iraq is not the only country that has been fooled.
BY JEFFREY E. STERN

(VF) On a Sunday morning in the fall of 2009, a 26-seat bus carrying one ton of explosives made its way toward the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad. Security in Iraq had been improving for more than a year. A U.S. troop surge seemed to have worked, and in a demonstration of the country’s stability, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had ordered security measures reduced. Blast walls were taken down. Traffic was allowed closer to government buildings.

The bus was not searched at any of the checkpoints near the administrative center. The driver pulled right up to the ministry building, and then the payload detonated with such tremendous force that, to those nearby, it felt as if a meteor had struck. Cars spun through the air and landed on top of one another; debris rocketed through windows a dozen stories above the street. As an opaque plume of smoke and dust rose hundreds of feet into the air, a van carrying another bomb exploded just up the street, in front of the Provincial Administration building.

In a matter of seconds, 155 people had been killed and more than 500 injured. Iraq’s most hopeful post-Saddam interlude was over, shattered by a new wave of devastating bombings. Two days later, a little-known Al Qaeda–linked group, who would later take on the name ISIS, claimed credit. But the government was less concerned with who had carried it out than with how the attack was even possible: How could nearly 4,000 pounds of explosives have passed, undetected, into one of the city’s most tightly controlled areas?

Full story: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/06/fake-bomb-detectors-iraq

-- Vanity Fair 2015-06-26

[sunshine51]

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives lost & Mc Cormick gets 10 years in the can.

That's justice?

[kblaze]

Very good to see this getting more press, particularly at this time. Those who champion the Thai military as moralistic, never-do-wrongs, only need to brush up on the corrupt tale of the GT 200 to see the truth.

[Seastallion]

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives lost & Mc Cormick gets 10 years in the can.

That's justice?

It's not justice but he only stood trial for fraud as that was the best way to get some sort of conviction. If they had tried him on manslaughter, he may have walked.

[Farma]

Despite all the publicity they're still in use in some countries.

Only a few weeks ago in one of the middle east countries I saw a military guard with one stuffed in his bulletproof jacket. Maybe he thought they'll stop a bullet too.

[sunshine51]

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives lost & Mc Cormick gets 10 years in the can.

That's justice?

It's not justice but he only stood trial for fraud as that was the best way to get some sort of conviction. If they had tried him on manslaughter, he may have walked.

How well I understand...still 10 years seems a light sentence for what the detectors didn't do. However...better 10 for fraud than walking

on manslaughter. Hope all his "assetts" have been called in.

[Seastallion]

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives lost & Mc Cormick gets 10 years in the can.

That's justice?

It's not justice but he only stood trial for fraud as that was the best way to get some sort of conviction. If they had tried him on manslaughter, he may have walked.

How well I understand...still 10 years seems a light sentence for what the detectors didn't do. However...better 10 for fraud than walking

on manslaughter. Hope all his "assetts" have been called in.

They're working on it. Have to line the ducks up properly.

[winstonc]

you have to ask who was stupid enough to buy them..

[JetsetBkk]

Despite all the publicity they're still in use in some countries.

Only a few weeks ago in one of the middle east countries I saw a military guard with one stuffed in his bulletproof jacket. Maybe he thought they'll stop a bullet too.

Stupid is as stupid does.

[Seastallion]

you have to ask who was stupid enough to buy them..

Yes, this has always concerned me. The FBI and the UK Police rejected them as phony, why did other organisations not insist on real tests?

I guess after the first few sales, that testimonial was enough.

[khunPer]

you have to ask who was stupid enough to buy them..

Recall a story a few years back in the National news here...

[Thakkar]

you have to ask who was stupid enough to buy them..

Don't know about the people who placed the orders for the machines, but the taxpayers were certainly fooled. And the grunts who relied on the machines to do their jobs.

T

[Jay Sata]

The Thai forces bought quite a lot of these and no doubt there were some nice kickbacks.

I have yet to hear of a Thai arrested over this scam

[oneday]

I just hope England and other countries are rewriting their laws to make convictions on something like this easier and to make stopping the exportation easier.

[sammygood]

no report in this article that thailand also bought these overpriced toys ?

[khunPer]

no report in this article that thailand also bought these overpriced toys ?

»A year after McCormick’s conviction, the Egyptian military began testing an apparent adaptation of McCormick’s device called the C-Fast, claiming it can detect both AIDS and hepatitis. Last June, 38 people were killed at Jinnah International Airport, in Karachi, when attackers with suicide bombs and rocket launchers got past the airport security force, which has admitted to relying on the A.D.E. 651. Another version of the device was reportedly being used in Thailand. Mexican police looking for drugs have incorporated the device into their stop-and-search procedures; if they ever acknowledge that the device is a fraud, the convictions resulting from those searches would be vulnerable to litigation. In some countries, sheer corruption keeps the device in the hands of soldiers and policemen.« (sic.)

[Prbkk]

As everyone knows, Thailand spent many millions US buying this worthless crap, fully endorsed in respect of what they were pleased to call ' the science' by the woman with the multi-coloured hair, then head of forensics

[saakura]

Dont forget the honourable Dr.Pornthip ex-chief forensic scientist of Thailand who vigorously defended the GTX-200 as based on scientific facts and has never apologised after it was exposed as a fake

[EnglishJohn]

Dont forget the honourable Dr.Pornthip ex-chief forensic scientist of Thailand who vigorously defended the GTX-200 as based on scientific facts and has never apologised after it was exposed as a fake

And also don't forget that Prayuth also publicly claimed that they worked.

Farang who had a decent education sometimes forget just how backward many people are here when it comes to science and logic. It makes us very frustrated with people who simply don't know any better but are oblivious to that fact.

It would help if they had the faintest clue just how they look to outsiders. They might think before speaking.

[tifino]

no report in this article that thailand also bought these overpriced toys ?

just look 'outside' the Article, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GT200 to see how (world) widely the scam worked

I liked the bit where some were dropped, and cracked open, to reveal they were empty plastic boxes, and the 'cards' were just that - cardboard Is there a Smiley, for "come in spinner" ?

[Jay Sata]

As everyone knows, Thailand spent many millions US buying this worthless crap, fully endorsed in respect of what they were pleased to call ' the science' by the woman with the multi-coloured hair, then head of forensics

First rule in Thailand ....never admit you are wrong and always ignore the problem until it is forgotten in a few days.

[cookee68]

old news