This is a news blog only
From Andrew Drummond, Bangkok
Action by the British Government to ban the bogus ADE651 explosives detectors which have been sold to Iraq will put the spotlight on the Thai government over the GT- 200, also sold by a British company. The GT-200 has been credited with little more than attributing to the deaths of people in the Islamic separatist insurgency in South Thailand.
The scandal of the bogus British bomb detectors, which have apparently also led to countless deaths in Iraq, is likely to gather momentum. Police in Somerset have arrested and bailed the owner of ATSC, a former Merseyside policeman, with little knowledge of science, and a lot of knowledge on how to make a fast buck.(but perhaps not as much knowledge as the buyers) At the moment police are only investigating suspected fraud. That appears to be an open and shut case as the British government has declared officially that the ADE651s is unable to detect explosives.
Could the boss, 53-yr-old Jim McCormick, not be done on more serious charges? And when will these machines be removed from the streets of Bagdad? And indeed when will the GT-200s be removed from the southern provinces of Thailand?
In the case of the GT 200, the centre of the controversy in Thailand, are claims that the British government actually approved the GT- 200 before it was sold to Thailand, where it is now being blamed for deaths of innocent civilians and police.
Meanwhile the Asian Human Rights Association and the Working Group for Justice and Peace are claiming the Thai military and Interior Ministry who bought the weapons are resisting the banning of these machines, while innocent people continue to die, flying in the face of the old adage ‘If in doubt – leave out!’
Maybe,just maybe, all you have to do is take these cards apart and find the non-existent microchip. Will the card that detects humans work in my local bar?
Yesterday a Thai Prime Minister’s office spokesman told me that an enquiry was under way, but people had come back with conflicting reports about the GT-200. And there we have it. The wheels are grinding with a lot of creaks and squeals.
Angkana Neelapaijit, Chairman of the WGJP said yet again: “We have all sorts of these machines. The British GT 200 is the most notorious (Thai forces are also using the Sniffex Plus and the Interior Ministry has bought the Alpha 6 and given it to regional police in a fanfare of press conferences).They are falsely reporting explosives at the top of coconut trees. And they have failed to detect explosives in cars and motorbikes which have subsequently exploded and killed people.
“The Generals like the machines, but the soldiers who have to operate them hate them. They would be as well off using an Ouija board.”
She added: “ We believe Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is aware of the situation and hope he will now act quickly. The news from Britain is encouraging. The ADE651 is a different machine, but similar.”
Then the subject turned to ‘The Committee of the South’ , a ‘symposium’, and letters still to be written to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The GT-200 does not need a symposium. Apparently one person with a sharp knife or pair of scissors can solve its riddle.
The GT200 is made and marketed by Global Technical Co. Ltd, of Ashford, Kent or more precisely of Unit 7, The Glenmore Centre Moat Way, Sevington, Ashford, Kent TN24 0TL. Tel:+44 0 8701 694017.
On its website it claims it is ‘registered and supported’ by the British government and adds: ”Contrary to recent misinformation, our equipment trial reports and references provided by the Government are all original documents”. They also claim: “When the need arises, we are also able to call on the services of the Ministry of Defence to assist with various training courses”.
“This all despite the fact that last year last year Quenton Davies, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, told the company to remove a suggested MoD endorsement for the GT-200 from its website and literature.
A British Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The GT 200 has not been considered to satisfy any of the capabilities we need”.
I spoke to Adam Thomas of UK Trade and Investment’s Defence and Security Organisation and he admitted that an EST (Export Support Team) had ‘looked at’ the GT200 in Chatham in 1999 but had not subjected it to a ‘formal test’. I detected a few moments of awkwardness in our conversation.
The report the EST team made had since been mislaid, he admitted, in a ministry shake up. But the company seems to have that report from the MoD anyway endorsing their product.
“The company cannot market this machine today, which we saw in 1999, saying the MoD has confirmed its capabilities”. Reading between the lines I sense that something happened in 1999 which the MoD may be regretting.
“If the Thai government asks us to test the GT200 now we will do so”, insisted Mr. Thomas.
The GT200 works on the same supposed principal as the ADE651 and also has no powered parts and allegedly works on the energy of its operator. Similar too is the Alpha 6, 799 units of which have been sold to the Thai Ministry of the Interior for UK11,000 pounds each.
The machines allegedly work on ‘molecular magnetic resonance’ and the wand points to the suspected substance, just like a water diviner. Yes the parts in these machines can’t cost much more than a fiver, once the moulds have been made.
The machines come with ‘substance detection cards’ which are ‘designed to tune into the frequency of the targeted explosives or substance’. (worth about 5p or 3 baht in the case of the ADE651)
But when Dr, Markus Khun of Cambridge University, examined one of the cards used in the British company ATSC’s ADE651, which was sold to Iraq at US$40,000 a piece, he told Newsnight: “There is nothing to programme in these cards. There is no memory. They are the cheapest form of electronics you can get to look like electronics. They are worth 2p or 3p.”…. quod erat demonstrandum.
If the GT-200 cards are the same, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, perhaps the Thai military could have spent US$15 at ‘Toys R Us’ and still have got a better deal.
Thai military are also using another ‘magic wand’ known as the ‘Sniffex’ , marketed from Germany, which was tested by the US Navy in 2005 and found that it could not detect 1000 lbs of explosives at 20 ft.
Has Thailand fallen for ‘all’ the scammers? Or is it in connivance?
Gary Bolton, CEO, of Global Technical Co. Ltd., of Ashford, refused to give any financial figures in fact he declined to comment in December other than saying in an email: “I am updating the website. ” The website has not been updated as of today, and Gary does not want to talk on the phone it seems. On his site he has a ‘get out’ clause stating the GT-200s are best used in conjunction with sniffer dogs. But I bet he did not tell the Thai authorities that they should buy a couple of thousand sniffer dogs as well.
But actually what is most alarming about the whole ‘magic wand’ saga is the ‘Who Cares?’ factor.
This story has been out there for quite some time. Just google ‘GT-200′, ‘Alpha 6′, ’Sniffex’ and five other brands and you will find it all.
In fact it’s really one of the biggest ‘military scandals’ around, because not many corrupt deals can be held directly responsible for the cause of deaths…as they can here.
The first story I believe was on ‘National Public Radio’ in the US in September last year. Then it was forgotten about until November when the New York Times half heartedly took up the case but did not pursue it. The NYT was followed later by the ‘Times’ in London, Yesterday an old colleague on the Daily Mail, Kim Sengupta now long since writing for the Independent in the UK gave the story close to its due worth, even though it was mainly a clip and paste (copied today in the Spectrum section of the Bangkok Post).
But it actually took the BBC’s Newsnight to actually go out and test the machines in question, something the newspapers should have done a long time ago.
The ‘Times’ so called ’investigation’ was less scientific but it had me chuckling. It was done I presume by the author, another former and amiable younger colleague from my Observer days, Simon de Bruxelles. The Times man put the machine on a desk, sent someone out to buy a load of fireworks (nah, probably had to go himself) and placed them in front of the machine and when the wand did not move, concluded the experiment! That’s what happens when you are reporting from the office and working to today’s newspaper budgets. Television runs away with the story. Well not quite. The newspaper thundered ‘Bomb detectors banned after Times expose!’ So thank you, NPR, Newsnight, ’The Times’ or rather New York Times, comic magician James Randi, and especially the author of www.sniffexquestions.blogspot.com , of whom the latter two have beaten all us journalists hands down!
Thailand’s problem at the moment is not so much its usual inability to get things done quickly, but more the reasons why? There are people who want nothing done.
Sure let the Thai scientists probe the GT 200, but give it to the British government to test too, or maybe even BBC Newsnight, who took it to a Cambridge University professor. Actually if some-one sends any of us a GT 200 ’substance detection card’ thanks to Dr. Markus, we could detect within a few minutes if it’s not going to work!
And if the GT-200s are proved to be equally duff, heads should of course roll. But that’s not the most important thing. The GT 200s should be taken off the streets now. Should they not?
But then again I guess the buzz has gotten around and no soldier will be staking his life on these machines in the future, rather they will adopt the Thai attitude and just salute and wave happily, do a thumbs up when the generals pass, and then put the GT-200s back in the lockers.
The Spongebob Squarepants model - only US$14.95 with working parts
Meanwhile of course once they have dealt with the GT-200, the military will have to deal with the Sniffex Pluses, and the Ministry of Interior and Police will have to deal with the Alpha 6’s. The only thing that can save the day for them is a typical Thai court ‘flat earth’ judgment…not possible if this gets too much publicity outside Thailand.
If one of these machines points at me and policeman says ‘Se-top!, my hands are going to go up like a flash, because no doubt I will have been identifed as a ‘crack’ or ‘ice’ hood, and Thai police have yet to be disarmed and they can shoot quicker than they can, well, read an Alpha 6…well at least thats what the relatives of victims of a previous PM’s drug war will say.
Finally a message for those operating ‘magic wands’: ‘It’ll be your fault!’. In every known case where these machines have been blamed for deaths and injuries, the manufacturers and military put it down to to ‘operator failure’.
PS: For those who did not see the BBC Newsnight test on the ADE651 card here is the link
Edited: Additional info Grant Peck/AP
I can predict right now that there will be a statement shortly from Khun Mark, our alleged leader, stating as ever something along these lines:
“security in the Kingdom has not been compromised and all Thai citizens are safe (not bothered about the rest of us here evidently…). We will continue to investigate how the equipment works but any statements that people have been injured or killed as a result of these devices mis-functioning is mis-information from mis-intentioned people…”
It must be great to live in a parallel universe as most of them over here do where everything is a mis- something but heaven forbid we ever tell the truth! haha
No I don’t think so. But clearly there is a bit of spinning plates to do.
I think you would also be well-advised to take a look into the security camera scandal. In this city, which gets its fair share of bomb attacks, there are persistent rumors that most of the numerous street cameras are not actually functioning because no one is prepared to sign off on a deeply corrupt project.
The armed forces command of this country is an absolute disgrace. I hear today that Seh Daeng is stark-raving bonkers as a result of combat psychosis. I think most of us mere un-uniformed and un-informed mortals spotted that decades ago. Why wasn’t he pensioned off to old soldier’s lah-lah land years ago, as an obvious basketcase? While the generals play golf, the grunts are out on patrol in ordinary unarmored pickup trucks. Small wonder that the ones who aren’t already dead or limbless are often mental cases. I can think of at least two examples of such jungle victims locally. Not to mention the army intelligence officer who fakes unrest to keep his job and another who has become the slave of a very conspicuous general so that he doesn’t have to serve in the redzone (just in the redshirts).
The new military airship is a bit of a disaster too. The airship was built more or less to schedule, only for the head mucky mucks to be told that no one could currently supply them with the expensive terrorist surveillance equipment that they intended to put on it.
Edward: I may have to eat my words. The PM says he is not worried by reports about the ADE651 as Thailand has bought a different machine.
Well it looks like it has got Doctor Pornthip fooled. Interesting that she doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Angkhana Neelapijit on this one. i guess some of us are just on the wrong wavelength and too full of those “negative waves” to make it work:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/01/26/politics/politics_30121150.php
QUOTE
CONTROVERSIAL BOMB DETECTOR
Dogs could sniff bomb out better than GT200
Published on January 26, 2010
The Army yesterday defended the effectiveness of the GT200 bomb detector despite the fact the UK has banned the export and use of the equipment, due to its ineffectiveness.
In response to reporters’ angry questions about the British-made scanner, Army chief Anupong Paochinda shot back: “Is the company using you to ask these questions?”
Joint Military Police Civilian Taskforce commander Lt-General Kasikorn Kirisri said the GT200 scanner was very useful in detecting and preventing explosions in the deep South, where violent incidents on an almost daily basis have killed more than 3,900 people to date.
“Not using the bomb detector may affect efforts to restore peace in the deep South,” he warned, adding that there might have been some problems with the detector, but they mostly involved human error.
Fourth Army Region Commander Lt-General Pichet Wisaichorn said the military would continue using the equipment in the South until it had something else.
However, the police believe the bomb detector is not effective enough, with only a 30-40-per-cent reliability factor, which means the chance of it failing is higher than succeeding.
“It is not accurate. If the operator is too close to the target - less than 3 metres - it will not work,” said Pol Senior Sgt-Major Chan Warongpaisit, who regularly operates the equipment in the South.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported the UK had banned the export of ADE651 and other similar bomb detectors to Iraq and Afghanistan because they did not work.
Just like the ADE651, no tests have proved the GT200 to be totally effective. Yet manufacturer Global Technical claims it can detect all kinds of explosive substances and narcotics within a 700-metre radius on land and 800 metres under water.
The GT200, powered by the movements of the operator, becomes active when the operator is moving and starts receiving signals from the magnetic signature of the targeted substance, the company says on its website.
Yet, the GT200 failed to detect many bombs in the deep South, which led to several tragic incidents. Last October, two bombs killed two people and injured dozens of others in Yala and Narathiwat provinces after the so-called bomb detector failed to detect any explosive devices in the area. However, military officials say the operators were in an excited state, which prevented the equipment from working properly.
In reality though, bomb detectors like the GT200 have never succeeded in double-blind tests. A test of the equipment conducted for Thai authorities by a sales agent resulted in a “random chance” finding, which meant a sniffer dog would be better at detecting explosives.
A 1999 guideline from the US Justice Department regarding commercial explosive-detection systems said so far, there were no devices that could successfully detect specific materials like explosives as part of controlled double-blind tests.
The GT200 was previously known as the Mole substance detector, but the manufacturer changed its name because the Mole detector failed to pass scientific testing in the US, one expert said.
An Chulalongkorn University engineer said the bomb detector was being used in the deep South as if it were a magic dowsing rod.
Meanwhile, residents in the South wonder if officials believe the device is a lie detector, because they always use it when trying to prove if any suspects - held over suspicions of having made or planted bombs - had contact with explosive substances.
Human-rights defender Pornpen Khongkajornkiart said many fellow activists questioned the GT200’s effectiveness and advised the government to review the equipment and conduct tests to prove its quality.
Meanwhile, Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, director of the Forensic Science Institute and who always uses the GT200, said the UK had only banned the ADE651.
She said the detector was effective when searching for bombs and even nails under water.UNQUOTE
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/01/26/politics/politics_30121145.php
QUOTE
A junior military officer assigned to one such device told me it cost Bt1 million. I noticed when the device was first in use, the officers manning it looked excited, as if they had a new toy. Later, they looked awkward and kept pulling and pushing the device’s “antenna” and wiping it clean from time to time.
The soldier said that during his patrol’s inspection of a rubber plantation in Pattani province, his device pointed to a termite mound, indicating some traces of explosive. However, digging in the mound found nothing suspicious. They discovered later that urea fertiliser - an ingredient in making bombs - was used at the plantation.
Last year, I personally experienced the GT200 showing a false positive. A device used by a defence volunteer pointed repeatedly to a motorcycle parked in front of the Pattani Provincial Court. However, a search of the motorbike discovered nothing illegal.
In another incident, a device pointed at a handbag carried by a female college student in Pattani who was strolling with friends near the CS Hotel. A search of her bag found cosmetics and other items that were completely lawful.
Doubt over the effectiveness of such devices has weakened the faith of ordinary citizens, who rely on them for their safety.
UNQUOTE
This appears to be one device that responds best in the presence of poo-yais. In which case, I suggest we select a special taskforce of poo-yais to operate it. I would like to propose General Chavalit and General Chaiyasit as too highly suitable candidates.
Andrew, I am a better predictor of Thai face-saving… haha Check out the comments today from the GEneral Anupong. Hysterical face-saving at the expense of lives. You can read this country like a fairy-tale!
Thank god I beat you to it. Yes I heard yesterday. Also Abhisit has gone on record as saying he is happy with the ADE651 as it is not as the same as the GT200!
Oh dear. This is going to have a sad ending.
The BBC appear to have possession of a GT200. There is no card reader - not surprising, as there is nothing in the card to read.
I want to go to a military demonstration of the GT 200.
The debate here kinda reminds me of tazers being used here in Canada. Did you ever see the footage of the Robert Zadenski being tazzered at the Vancouver International Airport?
RCMP Officers zapped him to the point where he had a heart attack and died on the scene on camera. Robert’s only weapon was a stapler.
In court the Officers actually said they, “Felt threatened.”
It reminds me of something the Coyote would buy from Acme, he’d insert one of those cards with “Roadrunner” written on it!
I was confounded by continuous roll out of the most senior thai’s in the country to publicly back the GT-200; you would think they would check things out before they put their reputations on the line.
But know I realise, the vast majority of thais do not have enough english to access international news and the liable laws mean the thai language press cannot print the truth. Meaning that although these guys are making themselves look like the biggest fools in the world, its don’t matter because nobody in thailand will know.
Andrew would you like to go into partnership with me. I have this super light weight breathable material that can only be seen by intelligent people, I want to sell uniforms to the army.
I was comparing notes with someone who had been watching reports on this scam on several Thai language TV stations. When I mentioned that a guy in the UK had been arrested, I was told that none of the local TV stations has yet mentioned this arrest. So just who IS benefitting form this scam I wonder?
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/02/03/politics/politics_30121721.php
“Further doubt was cast on the efficacy of the controversial GT200 explosive detector yesterday when panelists at a symposium at Chulongkorn University’s Faculty of Science concluded it was almost certainly a “hoax” and urged people in society to be more scientifically minded.
Meanwhile, Chulalongkorn molecular biologist Jessada Boripant, who “exposed” the device purchased by both the Thai Army and police, said an independent body was needed to avoid similar problems with future purchases of complicated technological equipment.
“I think [it's not intentional corruption] but ignorance. It’s a great hoax. Our society doesn’t question it as long as the users appear. Our society relies on superstition,” Jessada told The Nation.”
“Angkhana Neelapaijit, head of the Working Group on Justice for Peace, claimed 400 Thai-Malay Muslims had been forced into “occupational training” by the Army after they were wrongly detected with traces of explosives by the GT200.
She said it was long overdue to find out if the device was reliable or not.
Angkhana showed a letter to The Nation detailing how local residents were suddenly picked up and taken for forced training for four months after the GT200 device found they had been involved with bombs without any further evidence.
“Officials used the detector then they took us to vehicles,” part of a text by a person affected by use of the device in the deep South stated.”
If you always assume that the average adult Thai has the emotional level of a schoolchild and that the more rich and powerful are at the younger end as their lack of maturity has allowed them to get ahead at the expense of a conscience, you can explain the inexplicable here in LOS every time! It is the reality - low IQ and even lower EQ.