In the trenchesU.K. businessman convicted of selling fake explosives detectors
James McCormick, a British businessman, was convicted of having made millions in profits from selling fake bomb detectors to Iraq, Georgia, and several other countries. McCormick bought $20 golf ball finders in the United States, then sold the devices, which had no working electronics, for $40,000 each. The Iraqi government used more than $40 million in U.S. aid money to buy 6,000 of the devices, despite being warned by the U.S. military that the devices were a sham. The Iraqi military used the fake detectors at check-points, leading to scores of soldiers and civilians being killed by suicide trucks which went through the check points undetected. The police in Kenya says it will continue to use the devices.
McCormick's fake explosive detectors in use in Iraq // Source: wikipedia.org
James McCormick, a British businessman, was convicted of having made £50 million in profits from selling fake bomb detectors to Iraq, Georgia, and several other countries.
The BBC reports that during McCormick’s hearing last Tuesday in London, prosecutors told the court that the detectors were completely useless and lacked any grounding in science. Richard Whittam of the prosecution told the court, “The devices did not work and he knew they did not work.”
Detective Inspector Ed Heath told the BBC that the devices were used at numerous checkpoints in Iraq.
“It is clear that both civilians and armed forces personnel were put at significant risk in relying upon this equipment.
“McCormick showed a complete disregard for the safety of those that used and relied upon the device for their own security and protection. He amassed many millions of pounds through his greed and criminal enterprise.”
Detective Superintendent Nigel Rock described McCormick as a “conman,” adding: “We have heard evidence from many, many experts, scientists, leaders in their field, who have said this was a fraud. A sham.
“That device has been used and is still being used on checkpoints. People using that device believe it works. It does not.”
McCormick claimed the detectors could bypass “all forms of concealment,” detecting both drugs and explosives. He said the devices would work underwater, in the air, and could track an object up to one mile below ground.
The detectors came with a card which McCormick claimed could detect other substances, but the devices were actually based on a $20 golf ball finders which he bought in the United States and had no working electronics. McCormick then sold the devices for $40,000 each.
According to police, McCormick showed a complete lack of concern for the safety of those who used and relied upon the device for their safety and protection, and some of the devices are still in use at some checkpoints.
Between 2008 and 2010, Iraq spent more than $40 million on 6,000 of the devices. The money came from the U.S. aid package to the Iraqi government.
A BBC investigation into the devices resulted in a January 2010 U.K. government ban on the sale of the devices in Iraq and Afghanistan in, but some Iraqi officials knew the devices did not work and accepted bribes to make sure they were purchased anyway. General Jihad al-Jabiri, the head of the Baghdad bomb squad, is currently serving a jail term for corruption, along with two other Iraqi officials, for continuing to use aid money to buy the useless devices..
McCormick has been remanded on conditional bail and will be sentenced next month.
The police in Kenya is still using the devices, and the BBC quotes Kenya’s police chief Benson Githinji who told reporters: “Let me assure Nairobians, the machines in use are serviceable and don’t fall short… They are in operation and they work.”
