Were fake bomb detectors used by hotel security in Sharm el-Sheikh?

[webfact]

Were fake bomb detectors used by hotel security in Sharm el-Sheikh?
By Tim Hume, CNN

(CNN)As authorities investigate whether a bomb could have been smuggled aboard Metrojet Flight 9268, CNN has seen private security personnel in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, using handheld bomb detectors that British officials and security experts say just don't work.

Despite tightened security in the resort in the wake of the disaster which claimed 224 lives, CNN witnessed security guards at hotels and shopping centers using "bomb detectors" of a similar design to those banned for export by the British government.

Asked about images of the devices in use in the Red Sea resort where Flight 9268 began, a spokesman for the British Foreign Office said it had raised the issue with Egyptian authorities.

Full story: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/10/middleeast/egypt-sharm-fake-bomb-detectors/index.html


-- CNN 2015-11-11

[MaxYakov]

Did those detect only "fake bombs"?

[Enoon]

Did those detect only "fake bombs"?

No, the bomb "detectors" are fake, the bombs are real.

I believe that Thailand also bought similar "detectors".

[Kasset Tak]

Did those detect only "fake bombs"?

No it's the same once that the Thai army bought a bunch of from a UK based company. They are just some plastic and maybe a blinking diode, the "upgraded" model has a cord that is connected to an empty box...

[JetsetBkk]

Did those detect only "fake bombs"?

Some people just don't get your humour.

[oldsailor35]

Should have called in the Thai Army. They apparently work for them.

[ddavidovsky]

These things may have served as a deterrent until they were debunked - who can say? Not any more though, of course.

[p_brownstone]

In Thailand at least Hotel (and, probably, Airport) Security is a total waste of time and effort unless, perhaps, one is staying in a really top class Hotel; but to be honest I am sure the same problems apply Worldwide.

Just as one example :

At least 3 times a week I have to pass the Dusit Thani Hotel on the Rama IV / Silom intersection and, waiting at the traffic lights, I watch the "Security Guards" in the entrance to the Hotel solemnly push a sort of "mirror" on a hand held trolley under every vehicle that passes their "Security Checkpoint" before allowing access.

An absolute waste of time; these "Security Guards" are minimally uneducated, earn perhaps Baht 10,000.- a month - just slightly more than a construction worker - and have absolutely NO training and could not recognise an explosive device under a car ......... unless it had the word "BOMB" clearly written on it (in Thai of course).

Patrick

[bangon04]

In Thailand at least Hotel (and, probably, Airport) Security is a total waste of time and effort unless, perhaps, one is staying in a really top class Hotel; but to be honest I am sure the same problems apply Worldwide.

Just as one example :

At least 3 times a week I have to pass the Dusit Thani Hotel on the Rama IV / Silom intersection and, waiting at the traffic lights, I watch the "Security Guards" in the entrance to the Hotel solemnly push a sort of "mirror" on a hand held trolley under every vehicle that passes their "Security Checkpoint" before allowing access.

An absolute waste of time; these "Security Guards" are minimally uneducated, earn perhaps Baht 10,000.- a month - just slightly more than a construction worker - and have absolutely NO training and could not recognise an explosive device under a car ......... unless it had the word "BOMB" clearly written on it (in Thai of course).

Patrick

They can always get up to date training from their colleagues in the Philippines, which in addition to sweeping under each car with a mirror, they also require the car boot (trunk) to be opened so they can admire the passenger's luggage (without actually doing anything to it, of course, as we know that a large suitcase could not be used for hiding a bomb), then at the entrance to the hotel or mall they wave the visitor through an arch which usually beeps for every person, and waves over a wand which always beeps when they press the button to show they know what they are doing. Occasionally they peek inside the hand carried bag. Occasionally they have a sniffer dog which has to be woken up to come and sniff the suitcases.

My favourite part is when the security guard rubs a hand over my ass to prove that I have no gun in my waistband.

Naturally I feel sooo much safer there, and can only hope that this high security catches on in Thailand at the entrance to every hotel, mall, office block, station and airport

[biggles45]

iBangon04, the most annoying thing is when you go on the LRT/MRT in Manila and you have to open up your bags, even suitcases, for inspection

[khunPer]

"Same, same, but different" as seeking water with wire-hangers in the desert - may work, or may not work...
Little background:

The $80 Million Fake Bomb-Detector Scam—and the People Behind It...
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/06/fake-bomb-detectors-iraq

And the original Gopher Golf Ball Finder -- Instructional Video

Edited November 11, 2015 by khunPer