The GT200 is a fraudulent "
remote substance detector" that was claimed by its manufacturer, UK-based Global Technical Ltd, to be able to detect, from a distance, various substances including explosives and drugs. The GT200 was sold to a number of countries for a cost of up to £22,000 per unit, but the device has been described as little more than "
divining rod
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations (radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in Ge ...
s" which lack any scientific explanation for why they should work.
[ Also available fro]
After the similar
ADE 651
The ADE 651 is a fake bomb detector produced by the British company Advanced Tactical Security & Communications Ltd (ATSC). Its manufacturer claimed it could detect bombs, guns, ammunition, and more from kilometers away. However, it was a scam ...
was exposed as a fraud, the UK Government banned the export of such devices to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
in January 2010
and warned foreign governments that the GT200 and ADE 651 are "wholly ineffective" at detecting bombs and explosives.
The owner of Global Technical, Gary Bolton, was convicted on 26 July 2013 on two charges of fraud relating to the sale and manufacture of the GT200 and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Description and background
The GT200 consists of three main components—a swivelling antenna mounted via a hinge to a plastic handgrip, into which "sensor cards" can be inserted.
It requires no battery or other power source and is said to be powered solely by the user's static electricity. The device becomes active when the operator starts moving and detects various substances via "DIA/PARA magnetism".
It is made by Global Technical Ltd of
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour at the southern or Escarpment, scarp edge of the North Downs, about southeast of central London and northwest of Folkestone by road. In the ...
. The company (registered number 03300333) was established as a
private limited company
A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Examples include the '' LLC'' in the United Sta ...
on 9 January 1997 with Gary Bolton as director. A number of overseas partners including Segtec, Napco, Nikunj Eximp Enterprises, Electronic K9 Singapore, Aviasatcom and Concord Consulting have distributed its products in Central America, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia and Thailand respectively.
Global Technical also had a sister company, Global Technical Training Services Ltd (registered company 03793910), which was established on 23 June 1999 but is now dissolved.
Promotional material issued about the GT200 claims that it can detect a wide variety of items including ammunition, explosives, drugs, gold, ivory, currency, tobacco and "human bodies" at ranges of up to on the surface, depths of up to underground or under of water, or even from aircraft at an altitude of up to . A "Substance Sensor Card" inserted into the device is said to create an "attracting field" utilising "dia/para magnetism" between the device and the substance that is to be detected. The field is claimed to make the antenna of the GT200 lock onto a signal, indicating the direction in which the substance can be located.
According to the promotional material, if the device is used correctly, it "can detect substance(s) through walls, (even lead-lined and metal ones), water, (fresh and salted), fresh and frozen food, (fish, fruit, tea, coffee, ice), vacuum flask, containers, petrol and diesel fuel and even buried in the earth" and can detect narcotics for up to two weeks after they have been ingested by a target individual.
According to the Thai newspaper ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', the GT200 is "just a new name" for a previous Global Technical product, the MOLE programmable substance detection system.
It operated in the same way as the GT200, using a swinging antenna to point to a target material indicated via "programmable cards" inserted into a reader. The MOLE was tested in the United States in 2002 by
Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Ba ...
but was found to perform no better than random chance. According to the Sandia report, the MOLE appears "physically nearly identical" to a product Sandia examined in October 1995 called the
Quadro Tracker
The Quadro Tracker, also known as the Positive Molecular Locator, was a fake "detection device" sold by Quadro Corp. of Harleyville, South Carolina between 1993 and 1996. Around 1,000 were sold to police departments and school districts around the ...
, which was marketed by a
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
company but which was banned in 1996 and the makers prosecuted for fraud.
A ''
BBC Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' television investigation of the GT200 in January 2010 found that the "sensor card" consisted only of two sheets of card between which was sandwiched a sheet of paper, white on one side and black on the other, that had been cut off from a larger sheet with a knife or scissors. It contained no electronic components whatsoever. When the device's case was dismantled, it too was found to contain no electronic components. Explosives expert Sidney Alford told Newsnight: "Speaking as a professional, I would say that is an empty plastic case." Gary Bolton of Global Technical said that the lack of any electronic parts "does not mean it does not operate to the specification."
A GT200 unit was examined on Thailand's
Nation Channel in an interview with Lt Col Somchai Chalermsuksan of the Thai Central Institute of Forensic Science. The host commented that "there is no battery here or way of powering it" and that the bottom half of the device was completely empty. Asked if there was anything in the sealed top half of the device, Lt Col Somchai said: "There is nothing. Once there was an accident and the device came apart. There was nothing inside." The host concluded: "So it is just two pieces of plastic put together."
Export ban, police investigation and criminal charges
Following controversy over a similar device, the
ADE 651
The ADE 651 is a fake bomb detector produced by the British company Advanced Tactical Security & Communications Ltd (ATSC). Its manufacturer claimed it could detect bombs, guns, ammunition, and more from kilometers away. However, it was a scam ...
, the UK Government issued an order under the Export Control Act 2002 that came into force on 27 January 2010, banning the export to Iraq and Afghanistan of "'electro-statically powered' equipment for detecting 'explosives'", on the grounds that such equipment "could cause harm to UK and other friendly forces".
The export ban covers all such devices, including the GT200.
Officers from the
City of London Police
The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...
Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit subsequently raided the offices of Global Technical and two other makers of similar "bomb detectors". A large amount of cash and several hundred of the devices and their component parts were seized. The police said that they were investigating on suspicion of fraud by false representation and were also investigating whether bribes had been paid to secure contracts to supply the devices.
On 27 February 2011 the British government told BBC Newsnight that it had helped Global Technical sell the GT200 around the world between 2001 and 2004. Royal Engineers sales teams demonstrated the devices at arms fairs and the UK
Department of Trade and Industry helped two companies sell the GT200 and similar products in Mexico and the Philippines.
On 12 July 2012, Andrew Penhale, Deputy Head of the
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
's Central Fraud Division, authorised charges against six individuals, including Gary Bolton, for the manufacture, promotion and sale of a range of fraudulent substance detector devices.
Bolton was formally charged at the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
Magistrates' Court on 19 July with one count of fraud by false representation and one count of making or supplying an item for use in fraud between January and July 2012, and pleaded not guilty to both charges. Bolton was convicted on 26 July 2013 at The Old Bailey and released on bail pending sentence. Bolton was subsequently sentenced to 7 years Imprisonment on 20 August 2013. Bolton was also ordered to pay over £1.25 million to prevent seven additional years of imprisonment. Bolton reportedly made £45 million selling the fraudulent devices.
Users
Thailand
The GT200 was used extensively in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
.
Reportedly, over 800 GT200 units were procured by Thai public bodies since 2004; these include the
Royal Thai Army
The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
History
Origin
The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's so ...
's purchase of 535 units for combating the
South Thailand insurgency
The South Thailand insurgency ( th, ความไม่สงบในชายแดนภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย; ms, Pemberontakan di Thailand Selatan) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It ...
and another 222 units for use in other areas, the
Royal Thai Police
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) ( th, สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excludi ...
's purchase of 50 units for use in Police Region 4 (
Khon Kaen
Khon Kaen ( th, ขอนแก่น, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, also known as the "big four of Isan", the others being Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Ubon Ratchathani. It is the capital of Khon Kaen province and ...
), 6 units acquired by the Central Institute of Forensic Science and an equal number acquired by the Customs Department, the
Royal Thai Air Force
"Royal Thai Air Force March"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day)
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles ...
's purchase of 4 units, and the single unit acquired by the
Chai Nat
Chai Nat ( th, ชัยนาท, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Chai Nat province. It covers the whole ''tambon'' tambon Nai Mueang and parts of Ban Kluai, Tha Chai and Khao Tha Phra, all in Mueang Chai Nat ...
police. Other agencies, such as the Border Patrol Police Bureau and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, use a similar
Alpha 6 from the company detect drugs.
According to the ''
Bangkok Post
The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...
'', the first to procure the GT200 was the
Royal Thai Air Force
"Royal Thai Air Force March"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day)
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles ...
, in 2006, for purposes of detecting explosives and drugs at airports; the next was the
Royal Thai Army
The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
History
Origin
The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's so ...
.
According to Lt Gen Daopong Rattansuwan, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Thai Army, each GT200 bought by the army cost 900,000
baht
The baht (; th, บาท, ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. Society for Worldw ...
(£17,000/US$27,000), rising to 1.2 million baht (£22,000/US$36,000) if 21 "sensor cards" were included with it.
In total, Thailand's government and security forces have spent between 800 and 900 million baht (US$21 million) on the devices.
Figures updated in 2016 claim that the Thai government spent 1.4 billion baht on the purchase of 1,358 devices between 2006 and 2010. Even after the efficacy of the device was debunked by Thai and foreign scientists, Prime Minister
Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; th, ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, ; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and retired Royal Thai Army, army officer who has served as the Prime Minister of T ...
, then army chief, declared, "I affirm that the device is still effective."
The ''Bangkok Post'' commented that, "The GT200 case was a unique scandal because the devices...seemed to fool only the people closely connected to their sale and purchase."
In total, 14 government agencies were duped into buying GT200s: the Central Institute of Forensic Science; Royal Thai Army Ordnance Department; Customs Department; Provincial Administration Department; Royal Thai Aide-De-Camp Department; Provincial Police of Sing Buri and Chai Nat; Songkhla Provincial Administration; Royal Thai Navy Security Centre; and five provinces: Phitsanulok, Phetchaburi, Phuket, Yala, and Sukhothai.
The head of Ava Satcom Ltd., the Thai company that sold eight GT200 devices to the Royal Thai Aide-De-Camp Department in 2008, was sentenced in September 2018 to nine years in prison and fined 18,000 baht. The purchase cost the government more than nine million baht. The week previously a court had sentenced him to 10 years in prison for selling GT200 devices to the army for 600 million baht. The judgements will be appealed on the grounds that the GT200s were imported on the orders of the military. The defense claims that army officers approached Ava Satcom with instructions, and specific specifications to buy, import, and resell 535 GT200s to the army.
The military men involved have never been censured for their obvious gullibility and possible wrongdoing.
[
]
Mexico
The device was widely used in Mexico, where it was jokingly called "The devil's Ouija
The ouija ( , ), also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", occasionally "hello" and "goodbye", along with various symbols and grap ...
" (Spanish: La Ouija del diablo), as security forces ineffectively used it in an attempt combat drug traffickers and to search for explosives.
The Mexican government has spent over 340 million pesos
The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...
(US$27 million) buying GT200s at a cost of 286,000 pesos (US$22,000) each. According to the government of Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
state, the federal government has bought more than 700 GT200s. State governments have also bought their own GT200s; the device is reported to be in use by police in the Mexican states of Tabasco
Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It is located in ...
, Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
, Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
, Durango
Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...
, Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
and Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
. The Mexican military also utilises the GT200. In 2008 the Secretariat of National Defense
The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA); es, Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Secretary of National Defense who, like the co-equal ...
had purchased 300 GT200s for use throughout the country, including at 133 strategic locations. By late 2009 the figure had increased to 521 GT200s, which had been deployed to 11 strategic checkpoints and 284 regional control stations around the country. In the violence-wracked city of Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju ...
, the newspaper ''Excélsior
''Excélsior'' is a daily newspaper in Mexico City. It is the second oldest paper in the city after '' El Universal'', printing its first issue on March 18, 1917.
History
''Excélsior'' was founded by Rafael Alducin and first published in Mexic ...
'' reported that "military squads roam the streets and go from house to house, using a molecular detector known as GT200" to find weapons, drugs and money. Prison personnel in Juárez and its parent state, Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
, have been provided with GT200s to detect escape tunnels being dug by prisoners.
African states
The device is used to detect smuggled ivory in the central African states of Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
, Uganda, Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, Tanzania and the Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
. The Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) and the United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
bought 15 GT200s in 2005 at a cost of $5,000 each and distributed them to the five LATF member states. In Uganda, the GT200s were installed at Entebbe International Airport
Entebbe International Airport is the only international airport in Uganda. It is located about southwest of the town of Entebbe, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This is approximately by road south-west of the central business distric ...
, border crossings and internal checkpoints. A report submitted by Kenya to the CITES
CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
Standing Committee in 2006 stated that "three staffs from Tanzania were trained on the use of GT 200 Ivory Detector for the purposes of law enforcement against illegal dealing in ivory products, in the country. Four (4) Ivory Detectors are currently in place and are used for law enforcement activities especially at entry and exit points."
Elsewhere
The GT200 has been demonstrated in India for organisations including the Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guards, Narcotics Control Bureau and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and was procured by the Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
Customs in 2009. Hotels in Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
use it to detect bombs. It is also in use in Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, Jordan and China.
Controversy over use
Thailand
The effectiveness of the GT200 has been the subject of controversy in Thailand, where the device has been reported to have been implicated in several deaths when it failed to detect improvised explosive devices which detonated, killing civilians and personnel from the security forces.
Three members of a border patrol police unit were killed on 7 November 2008 in Panare District when the GT200 they were using failed to detect a bomb planted on a road. In the Mueang Yala District of Yala Province, security forces used a GT200 to investigate the scene of the murder of two officials, but were unable to detect a follow-up boobytrap bomb, which exploded just after they had declared the area to be clear of bombs.
Numerous people were killed and injured in two bomb attacks in October 2009 in which the GT200 was used by security forces. On 6 October 2009, a car bomb exploded opposite the Merlin Hotel in Su-ngai Kolok
Su-ngai Kolok ( th, สุไหงโกลก, ms, Sungai Golok) is a border town, subdistrict, and district on the Malaysia-Thailand Border in Narathiwat Province, Thailand. It is one of the largest and most prosperous districts in Narathiwa ...
, killing one person and injuring 20, after it had been "scanned" using a GT200 and declared to be free of explosives. A motorcycle bomb exploded on 19 October in Yala, injuring another 26 people, again after a scan with a GT200 had returned negative results for explosives.
False positives have also been reported, with civilians being arrested after a GT200 "detected" traces of explosives on them. Similar erroneous readings were reported to have caused "pandemonium" at Pattani Hospital. On one occasion the device was reported to have "incriminated the top of a coconut tree", though it was said the alert turned out to have been triggered by a plastic bag with vegetable oil inside. Thai journalist Charoon Thongnual reported personally experiencing the GT200 showing false positives:
The ''Bangkok Post'' reported on a Thai army field training session using the GT200 near Yala city in November 2009, in which a bomb squad using GT200 devices repeatedly failed to detect explosives:
Hundreds of people are said to have been detained by Thai security forces on the basis of GT200 readings. According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, about 10 percent of those detained on suspicion of involvement in the insurgency have been arrested on this basis. In one village in Narathiwat Province
Narathiwat ( th, นราธิวาส, Malay: Menara) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan an ...
, 32 people were arrested after GT200s were used to "detect" traces of explosive substances on their bodies. Most of them were detained without charge for an extended period. Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch commented: "It is common during security sweeps in the south to see Muslim men lined up on the roadside with their shirts off while being screened by a GT200. Many of those implicated by the GT200 have been arrested and then tortured."
The Working Group on Justice for Peace, a Thai non-governmental human rights organisation, published an article in November 2009 that was strongly critical of the GT200: "The operation of the device is causing a lot of suspicion among scientists in Thailand for several reasons. According to them, the procedure of finding suspicious objects is not based on a reliable scientific method. Besides, GT200 is not being used by credible international organisations."
Government response
Concerns were raised by some within the Thai establishment. General Pathomphong Kasornsuk, the former chief advisor of the Supreme Command, urged Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to investigate the procurement scheme for the GT200 devices and other elements of the counter-insurgency campaign in southern Thailand. Jetsada Denduangboripan, a scientist at Chulalongkorn University, told a committee of the House of Representatives of Thailand
The House of Representatives ( th, สภาผู้แทนราษฎร; ; ) is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a constitu ...
in January 2010 that "The GT200 cannot detect explosives. It is not scientific equipment. It works on the users' hunch. It is similar to a wood stick that people used to detect dead bodies buried in a cemetery." He used a set of pliers, a radio antenna and a piece of paper to produce a "bomb detector" that he said worked just as effectively as the GT200. The House committee on national security said that it would investigate the GT200 further and set up an inquiry into its effectiveness that would involve the military and scientists.
Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam Thaworn ( th, ถาวร, ; from pi, Thāvara) is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Thaworn Senniam (born 1947), Thai politician
*Thaworn Wiratchant
Thaworn Wiratchant (born 28 December 1966) is a Thai profession ...
told journalists after a fatal bomb attack in southern Thailand on 6 October 2009 that the police had failed to detect the bomb "because the officer handling the GT200 detector was too nervous... His nervousness caused his temperature to rise which, in turn, caused the bomb detector to malfunction." He announced that in future two officers would be assigned to use the device, with the second ready to take over from the first if he was "not ready to use it."
Following media criticism, army chief General Anupong Paochinda
Anupong Paochinda ( th, อนุพงษ์ เผ่าจินดา; ; born 10 October 1949) is a Thai politician and retired army officer. He held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 2007 until his retirement on ...
accused the press of working for Avia Satcom's competitors. He organised a demonstration to "prove" to the media that the devices worked. Fourth Army chief Lt. General Pichet Wisaijorn told the press, "It is not Gen Anupong saying the device is effective. Officers in the South and the North and the current and former 4th Army commanders also say the same thing. We have bought them and if the users insist they are good, that's end of the discussion." Joint Military Police Civilian Taskforce commander Lt-General Kasikorn Kirisri said any issues with the GT200 scanner were due to human error. According to Col Banpot Poonpian of the Thai Army's Internal Security Operations Command, the GT200 has "proved effective although it may not work perfectly". It was used only as an auxiliary tool to detect something suspicious, with two other devices being used to identify the suspicious object. A recent investigation had found that failures were the result of users relying solely on the GT200 and not using the other two devices, following which bomb disposal personnel had undergone additional training.
According to a commander in the army, which makes extensive use of the device, how well it works "depends on the static electricity stored in the body of its user. If the person using the detector is feeling weak physically, his static electricity will be down and weaken the effectiveness of the device."
After the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
reported that the British government was to warn foreign governments that the GT200 and other similar devices were "wholly ineffective" at detecting bombs and explosives, General Anupong said that the procurement of more GT200s would be halted if the device was proven to be ineffective, although existing GT200s would continue to be used for bomb detection purposes. Other senior military figures continued to insist that the device worked as advertised, saying that it had detected explosives, weapons and narcotics in 173 out of 236 incidents, with a success rate higher than 80 percent. Army Spokesperson Sansern Kaewkamnerd insisted that the GT200 units worked with 100 percent confidence and that the Army was ready to prove the units' effectiveness any time, anywhere. Pornthip Rojanasunand
Khun Ying Pornthip Rojanasunand, also spelled Porntip Rojanasunan ( th, พรทิพย์ โรจนสุนันท์; ; born 21 December 1954) is a Thai forensic pathologist and medical doctor. First appearing in the media in 1998, he ...
, Director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, also defended the use of the GT200 devices, claiming that they were effective when searching for bombs and even nails under water. She said: "I do not feel embarrassed if the bomb detector is proven ineffective. Personally, I have never handled the device myself. But my people have used it and it is accurate every time. Long long time ago, people believed that the Earth is flat and anyone who said otherwise faced execution. Things which are not visible does not necessarily mean they do not exist. The devices are there and no one has the right to ban their use. I will continue to use it."
Review
At the start of February 2010, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that he agreed that the device should be tested to determine whether it was effective. He told the media: "It's dangerous if you think something unworkable is working. So we must test to see whether the device works. We should also discuss what we should do." If the devices were found to be ineffective, an investigation would be ordered to determine why they had been bought.
Following Abhisit's intervention, the Thai Cabinet ordered the Ministry of Science and Technology to carry out tests on the GT200. The Interior and Justice Ministries also commissioned the ministry to test the similar Alpha 6 device, which they used to search for drugs. The evaluation team included engineers, scientists, military, police and representatives from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board and the National Statistics Office. The tests were carried out by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center at the Thailand Science Park's Sirindhorn Science Home in Pathum Thani
Pathum Thani ( th, ปทุมธานี, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, directly north of Bangkok. It is the capital of the Pathum Thani province, Thailand as well as the Mueang Pathum Thani district. As of 2005, it ha ...
, in a process involving 30 GT200 operators, 30 members of the investigating committee and 10 independent observers. Ten GT200 units were used in double blind
In a blind or blinded experiment, information which may influence the participants of the experiment is withheld until after the experiment is complete. Good blinding can reduce or eliminate experimental biases that arise from a participants' expec ...
tests to detect 20 grams of C4 explosive
C-4 or Composition C-4 is a common variety of the plastic explosive family known as Composition C, which uses RDX as its explosive agent. C-4 is composed of explosives, plastic binder, plasticizer to make it malleable, and usually a marker or odo ...
concealed in one of four identical plastic boxes. However, the testers were not allowed to examine the interior of the GT200 because of confidentiality agreements prohibiting the disclosure of "any information regarding the device."
The test results were announced by Prime Minister Abhisit on 16 February, who disclosed that the investigators found that the GT200 had correctly detected explosives only four times in 20 tests. He said, "The result has no statistical significance. The performance is equivalent to random chance." Following the test results, he ordered security forces to stop buying the devices and review the use of those already in service. He said that the government would consider suing the GT200's manufacturer, Global Technical, and its Thai distributor Avia Satcom Co. An Army spokesman said that units on the ground would have discretion to continue using the GT200 unless they could find a substitute, though the Army would be sending proven alternatives such as sniffer dogs to assist the troops. Pornthip Rojanasunand of the Central Institute of Forensic Science said that although she knew it was "not scientific equipment", she believed that forensic scientists could still use it effectively: "We won't buy more, but we won't stop using them either."
Global Technical rejected the tests' conclusions. The company issued a statement saying that it was "surprised and disappointed" by the outcome of the tests. It claimed that the results were "completely at odds with other tests carried out by independent bodies" and with "the experience of the large number of users of this product all over the world."
Despite the outcome of the tests, Thai Army chief General Anupong Paojinda said that he would not order his soldiers to stop using the GT200. He insisted that "the device operators on the ground can use them effectively. This may not be explained scientifically, but I'm telling the truth." While not rejecting the result of the tests, he stood by the device's effectiveness and argued that "as the men on the ground are impressed with it and demanded the equipment, it is the duty of the commander to procure them." He rejected the use of sniffer dogs on the grounds that they could not detect explosives at a distance and were disliked by Muslims for religious reasons. The former army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin also argued that the purchase of the GT200 had been justified as there was demand from operational units, despite the high price of the device: "Price is not an issue if the device is able to save people's lives." Prime Minister Abhisit ordered the scientists who had conducted the tests to explain their findings to the military and ask them to stop using the device, but said that he did not want to confront the army. Some soldiers, however, were reported to have abandoned the GT200 and turned instead to using chopsticks
Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of China, Chinese origin that have been used as Kitchen utensil, kitchen and List of eating utensils, eating utensils in most of East Asia, East and Southe ...
and their own hands to detect bombs hidden on motorcycles.
In August 2012, the Thai Department of Special Investigation (DSI), which had been carrying out a review of 13 government agencies' procurement of the GT200, stated that the buyers had been deceived by the device's manufacturer. The DSI's chief, Tarit Pengdith, told a press conference that the manufacturer had "set out to lure potential buyers into buying its devices from the beginning". He said that the government agencies were now considering prosecuting the GT200's manufacturer and resellers for fraud.
, fourteen years after the Thai military and police spent millions on bogus GT200
The GT200 is a fraudulent " remote substance detector" that was claimed by its manufacturer, UK-based Global Technical Ltd, to be able to detect, from a distance, various substances including explosives and drugs. The GT200 was sold to a number ...
"bomb detectors", the National Anti-Corruption Commission The National Anti-Corruption Commission may refer to:
*National Anti-Corruption Commission (Thailand)
* National Anti-Corruption Commission (Saudi Arabia)
*National Anti-Corruption Commission (Australia)
The National Anti-Corruption Commission, of ...
(NACC) investigation is still "on-going". Surasak Keereevichien, an NACC member, stated in August 2018 that it is difficult for the anti-graft agency to ascertain whether there was any wrongdoing committed in the 1.13-billion baht purchase of fake "remote substance detectors". He said the NACC would come up with a decision on the matter "at an appropriate time. The NACC will not allow the statute of limitations to expire...." Surasak claimed that officials bought the devices despite their exorbitant price tag because they thought they would work. "Sometimes, it is not about the value of devices. It's more about belief, just like when you buy Buddha amulets," Surasak said. "Officials who used this device found it worth the price. But some people see the price as too high." When the GT200 scandal first came to light, the equipment was tested by the National Science and Technology Development Agency
The National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) is an agency of the government of Thailand which supports research in science and technology and its application in the Thai economy.
See also
* NSTDA affiliated institutions
** ...
(NSTDA) and it found that the GT200 consisted of two pieces of plastic and lacked any electronic components, as was advertised in a brochure distributed to potential customers.
Alpha 6 controversy
In the wake of the GT200 controversy, the procurement by the Interior and Justice Ministries of the Alpha 6 "molecular detector" device has come under scrutiny. The Thailand Science and Technology Ministry announced that it would broaden its tests to verify the claimed effectiveness of the Alpha 6. The case was declared "closed" in May 2018 after 10 years of investigation. Three minor officials are deemed responsible for the purchase of 493 of the "worthless lpha 6boxes" at a cost of 350 million baht. The British scammer who sold the devices to Thailand was found guilty of fraud in the UK and imprisoned in 2013. The ''Bangkok Post'' fumed that, "The disappointing and unsatisfactory outcome of this astoundingly long investigation shows up the enormous failings of the anti-graft commission."
Kenya
The use of the GT200 as a means of tracking smuggled ivory in Kenya has also been questioned. Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
, who saw the GT200 being used by Kenyan rangers in an attempt to catch poachers, described the misinformation which accompanied the devices as "cynical, cruel and monstrous." He told the BBC's ''Newsnight'' programme: "I was horrified. They had spent a vast sum of money on a modern equivalent of a hazel twig divining rod. There was no possibility that such a thing could work."
Mexico
Most of the Mexican media coverage on GT200 lacked of a critical point of view, but science populariser Martin Bonfil Olivera wrote on 17 February 2010, the first article warning about this scam. However, the impact of this article (and the next on 10 March 2010,) on the rest of the press was almost imperceptible, with only Fausto Ovalle from La-Ch.com writing about it. Only after Marc Lacey from The New York Times wrote on 15 March 2010 about the British government warning on the GT200, the scam was exposed in some Mexican newspapers. Later, Juan José Morales from Por Esto! wrote a couple of columns and Bonfil Olivera was interviewed by Ana Paula Ordorica and Enrique Acevedo for La Otra Agenda TV show. A local newspaper in Cuernavaca published about the detector in their science popularisation section in the charge of the Academy of Sciences of the State of Morelos. A few critical articles published in 2011 include two interviews by Benito Jiménez and an interview by Guillermo Cárdenas.
All of this had been not enough to create public awareness on this subject. Main press and TV continued not just ignoring the subject but even justifying it. Mexican military continues doing searches and explosives are ruled out based on GT200 results. This situation might have changed the publication by a major newspaper, ''El Universal'', of a critical article in its first page. Subsequent articles were published daily for a week in the main and editorial pages of that newspaper, and interviews with scientists and human rights defenders were transmitted in television and radio channels.
According to data available in Federal Institute of Access to Public Information (IFAI
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is India's largest professional accounting body under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It was established on 1 July 1949 as a statutory ...
) and press notes, the GT200 has been bought among others by the SEDENA
The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA); es, Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Secretary of National Defense who, like the co-equal ...
, SEMAR
Semar is a character in Javanese mythology who frequently appears in wayang shadow plays. He is one of the punokawan (clowns), but is in fact divine and very wise. He is the dhanyang (guardian spirit) of Java,Geertz, 23. and is regarded by some ...
, some PEMEX
Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexican state-owned petroleum company managed and operated by the Mexican government. It was formed in 1938 by nationalization and expr ...
filials and some state police agencies. As of 2011, more than MXN$340 million Mexican pesos (US$26 million US dollars (at 2011-09-16 rate)) have been spent to purchase more than 940 detectors.
On 13 September 2011, a group of scientists, including members of the Science Council of the Presidency and the president of the Mexican Academy of Science, met members of the Science Committee of the Senate to discuss the GT200. The scientists argued that the claimed scientific basis for the operation of the GT200 was false and that the device was unlikely to work, they pointed out the risks to the armed forces and to the civilian population from the continued use of the "detector", and that notwithstanding the apparent number of favourable testimonies, the devices had to be subjected to controlled double blind tests. The senators announced they would present a resolution to the main assembly of the Senate in order to audit the armed forces and demand a scientific test of their equipment.
On 3 October 2011, Karla Macías Lovera, a judge in the state of Veracruz, took a historic decision, ordering the release of Ernesto Cayetano Aguilar, a man that had been accused of carrying drugs eight months back, when he was singled out by the GT200 from among the passengers of a bus where a kilogramme of marijuana was found. The judge argued that the GT200 provided no credible evidence, as there is no scientific proof that it actually works.
On 21 October 2011, double blind tests were finally performed in México to assess the efficacy of the GT200 detector. The results of this test were to be presented as a proof in an ongoing judicial process. Although the judge has not yet resolved the case (October 2012), ''El Universal'', a major Mexican newspaper, published a detailed account of the results. The test was conducted by two physicists, members of the Mexican Academy of Science, and several military men and policemen participated, including two certified expert operators of the GT200. More than 1600 amphetamine capsules and four bullets were hidden in one of eight cardboard boxes distributed on a large abandoned ballroom. In a first stage the ''substances'' were hidden in plain view of all the participants and the GT200 was 100% successful (four successes in four tries). However, the second stage was double blind, and only three searches succeeded out of twenty tries, a result consistent with chance but not with any useful effectiveness. Thus, it was demonstrated that the GT200 yields reliable results only when the operator knows beforehand where the substance is hidden, but is otherwise useless.
The El Paso Times
The ''El Paso Times'' is the newspaper for the US city of El Paso, Texas. The newspaper has an approximate daily circulation of 65,000 and 125,000 on Sundays.
The paper is the only English-language daily in El Paso (when the '' El Paso Herald-Po ...
reported on 24 October 2011 that the Mexican army turned down an offer from the Mexican Association for the Sciences to help test the effectiveness of the GT200. In a written response, the Mexican army stated that their contract with the GT200 supplier prevents them from accepting the offer.
On 5 June 2012 the Mexican Congress approved
declaration
exhorting the President to collect from the scientific community and to analyse all opinions and evidence on the effectiveness of the GT200 as a molecular detector, with the help of his Science Council. It may be interesting to note that to this date (Aug.9, 2012), after five and a half years of his presidency, president Calderón had never met with his Science Council.
On 29 August 2012, the Supreme Court of Justice announced that it would review a case involving the GT200. It seems that two young men were accused of dealing with cocaine. The judge disregarded the case stating that there was no scientific evidence proving the usefulness of the GT200. The Attorney General appealed this decision and the Supreme Court stepped in.
On 22 December 2012, a newspaper announced that the new Attorney General (Procurador General de la República) had prohibited its use by the police forces under his command, as the GT200 had failed scientific tests, and that their purchase was being investigated.
See also
* List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
This is a list of topics that have, either currently or in the past, been characterized as pseudoscience by academics or researchers. Detailed discussion of these topics may be found on their main pages. These characterizations were made in the ...
* Sniffex
Sniffex and Sniffex Plus are fake explosive detection systems produced by Homeland Safety International, debunked as ineffective. Also availablhere
Performance
An article in ''The Dallas Morning News'' in April 2007 explained that Sniffex is a ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Report on the GT200
– BBC Newsnight, 16 February 2010
Questions About Sniffex, ADE651, GT200, H3 TEC, HEDD1, and other Explosive Detectors
an informative blog.
Fraudulent detection devices
Law enforcement in Thailand
2010 in Thailand