ADE 651 The ADE 651 is a fake bomb detector produced by ATSC ( UK ) , which claimed that the device could effectively and accurately , from long range , detect the presence and location of various types of explosives , drugs , ivory , and other substances . The device has been sold to 20 countries in the Middle East and Far East , including Iraq and Afghanistan , for as much as $ 60 , 000 per unit . The Iraqi government is said to have spent £52 million ( $ 85 million ) on the devices . Investigations by the BBC and other organisations found that the device is little more than a " glorified dowsing rod " with no ability to perform its claimed functions . In January 2010 , export of the device was banned by the British government and the managing director of ATSC was arrested on suspicion of fraud , and in June 2010 , several other companies were raided by British police . ATSC was dissolved on 5 March 2013 . On 23 April 2013 , the founder of ATSC , James McCormick , was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London , and was subsequently sentenced to ten years ' imprisonment . The use of the device by Iraqi and Pakistani security forces has become a major international controversy . The very similar GT200 and Alpha 6 devices , which are widely used in Thailand and Mexico , have also come under scrutiny in the wake of the revelations about the ADE 651 . Design and claimed functionality . The ADE 651 consists of a swivelling antenna mounted via a hinge to a plastic handgrip . It requires no battery or other power source ; its manufacturer claimed that it is powered solely by the user ' s static electricity . To use the device , the operator must walk for a few moments to " charge " it before holding it at right angles to the body . After a substance - specific " programmed substance detection card " is inserted , the device is supposed to swivel in the user ' s hand to point its antenna in the direction of the target substance . The cards are claimed to be designed to " tune into " the " frequency " of a particular explosive or other substance named on the card . According to Husam Muhammad , an Iraqi police officer and user of the ADE 651 , using the device properly is more of an art than a science : " If we are tense , the device doesn ' t work correctly . I start slow , and relax my body , and I try to clear my mind . " The cards were supposedly " programmed " or " activated " by being placed in a jar for a week along with a sample of the target substance to absorb the substance ' s " vapours " . Initially , McCormick reportedly used his own blood to " program " the cards for detecting human tissue , but eventually gave up even the pretence of " programming " them when demand for the devices was at its peak . The promotional material issued by ATSC claimed that the ADE 651 could detect items including guns , ammunition , drugs , truffles , human bodies , contraband ivory and bank notes at distances of up to , underground , through walls , underwater or even from aeroplanes at an altitude of up to . In one promotional video McCormick claimed that the device could detect elephants from away . The device was said to work on the principle of " electrostatic magnetic ion attraction " . According to the promotional material , " by programming the detection cards to specifically target a particular substance , ( through the proprietary process of electrostatic matching of the ionic charge and structure of the substance ) , the ADE651 could “ by - pass ” all known attempts to conceal the target substance . It has been claimed to penetrate lead , other metals , concrete , and other matter ( including hiding in the body ) used in attempts to block the attraction . " Prosec , a Lebanese reseller of the ADE 651 , claimed on its website that the device " works on nuclear quadrupole resonance ( NQR ) or nuclear magnetic resonance ( NMR ) . " McCormick told the BBC in 2010 that " the theory behind dowsing and the theory behind how we actually detect explosives is very similar . " Development and manufacture . The ADE 651 is a descendant of the Quadro Tracker Positive Molecular Locator produced in the 1990s by Wade Quattlebaum , a South Carolina car dealer , commercial diver , and treasure hunter . The Quadro Tracker was promoted by Quattlebaum initially as a device to find lost golfballs , and later as a means of detecting marijuana , cocaine , heroin , gunpowder , and dynamite using " carbo - crystalised " software cards . Like the ADE 651 , it consisted of a hand unit on which a swinging antenna was mounted , linked to a box worn on the belt in which the cards were inserted to identify the " molecular frequency " of whatever the user wanted to detect . The cards were " programmed " by photocopying a Polaroid photograph of the target , cutting up the resulting copy and pasting the pieces between two squares of plastic . Quattlebaum sold the devices at prices of between $ 395 and $ 8 , 000 for a unit claimed to be capable of detecting humans , using a Polaroid photograph of the individual concerned for the " programming . " A cheaper variant called the Golfinder or Gopher was available for $ 69 . Although the Quadro Tracker was enjoined from being manufactured or sold in the United States after a 1996 federal court case , Quadro ' s four principal figures escaped criminal sanctions after a jury failed to convict them . The company ' s secretary , Malcolm Stig Roe , moved to the United Kingdom after jumping bail and set up two new companies to sell fake detection devices . Some of the distribution agents broke away and began producing their own copies of the Quadro Tracker , such as the Alpha 6 , Mole Programmable Substance Detector , Sniffex and GT200 . The huge increase in security spending that followed the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States opened up lucrative opportunities for sellers of security equipment . The ADE 651 ' s inventor James McCormick , a former Merseyside Police officer , was previously a salesman specialising in communications equipment but had no scientific or technical background . He established a private limited company ( registered company 03407495 ) on 23 July 1997 under the name " Broadcasting and Telecommunications Ltd " which he subsequently renamed " Advanced Tactical Security & Communications Ltd " ( ATSC ) . After he came across the Mole in 2000 , McCormick signed up as a distribution agent , paying the UK - based manufacturer £10 , 000 ( $ 14 , 900 ) for a single unit . The device was withdrawn from sale only a year later after it was investigated by Sandia National Laboratories on behalf of the US National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center , and was found to be useless . The company was based in a former dairy in Sparkford , Somerset . McCormick responded to this setback by copying Quadro ' s Golfinder , sticking an ATSC label onto it , renaming it the ADE ( Advanced Detection Equipment ) 100 , and marketing it as a bomb detector . A subsequent revision of the design , called the ADE 101 , was sold for up to $ 7 , 000 per unit . He also marketed a version called the ADE 650 . The ADE 651 was a further development of the same design . According to an associate of ATSC , the devices were manufactured at a cost of £150 ( $ 250 ) each by suppliers in Britain and Romania . The associate told " The New York Times " : " Everyone at ATSC knew there was nothing inside the ADE 651 . " A whistleblower who worked with McCormick to sell the device around the world told the BBC that he once challenged McCormick over the device ' s effectiveness . McCormick was said to have answered that the device did " exactly what it ' s meant to . . . it makes money . " ATSC was the principal vendor of the ADE devices . Its accounts at Companies House recorded a turnover of £1 . 78 million for the year to 31 July 2008 , with a gross profit of £1 . 35 million . Its sole shareholder was its owner , Jim McCormick . A sister company at the same location , ATSC Exports Ltd ( registered company 06797101 ) , was established on 21 January 2009 , also as a private limited company . It had not filed any accounts as of January 2010 . There were also several resellers of ATSC ' s fake bomb detectors , including Cumberland Industries UK , a company based in Kettering , Northamptonshire , and Prosec of Baabda , Lebanon . Users . The ADE 651 is widely used by the Iraqi Police Service and the Iraqi Army . The Iraqi Interior Ministry bought 800 of the devices in 2008 for £20m ( $ 32m ) and a further 700 in 2009 for £32m ( $ 53m ) , in no - bid contracts with ATSC . The Iraqi government paid up to £37 , 000 ( $ 60 , 000 ) for the devices despite the purchase price being put at around £11 , 500 ( $ 18 , 500 ) . The Iraqi Army ' s Baghdad Operations Command announced in November 2009 that it had purchased another hundred of the devices . Jim McCormick of ATSC has said that the devices were sold for £5 , 000 ( $ 8 , 000 ) each , with the balance of the cost going on training and middlemen . The training included instructions to Iraqi users to " shuffle their feet to generate static electricity to make the things work . " The ADE 651 has been used at hundreds of Iraqi police and Iraqi military checkpoints across the country , often replacing physical inspections of vehicles . Major - General Jihad ( also transliterated " Jehad " ) al - Jabiri of the Interior Ministry ' s General Directorate for Combating Explosives has defended the device : " Whether it ' s magic or scientific , what I care about is detecting bombs . I don ' t care what they say . I know more about bombs than the Americans do . In fact , I know more about bombs than anyone in the world . " He told a press conference that the ADE 651 has detected " hundreds of roadside bombs and car bombs " and any deficiencies were due to defective training in the device ' s use . The Iraqi Interior Minister , Jawad al - Bulani , also defended the device , telling Al Iraqiya television that the ADE 651 had " managed to prevent and detect more than 16 , 000 bombs that would be a threat to people ' s life and more than 733 car bombs were defused . " He said : " Iraq is considered as a market area for many companies producing such devices . . . and there are other rival companies trying to belittle the efficiency of these instruments the government is buying " . In Mexico , the Government of Colima bought one of these devices , paying more than $ 60 , 000 . Also , in the photography accompanying an article about GT200 published in newspaper La - Ch . com a Mexican soldier can be seen using an ADE 651 . It is possible that the Secretariat of National Defense ( SEDENA ) also bought some units . According to a promotional website for the ADE 651 , the device is also used by the Lebanese Army , the Chinese Police , the Royal Thai Police and the Interior Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraqi Kurdistan . The website claims that the Jordanian government requires hotels to employ ADE 651 devices to scan vehicles entering underground car parks . ATSC ' s Jim McCormick says that 20 countries have acquired the device , with purchasers including " the Saudis , Indian police , a Belgian drug squad , a Hong Kong correctional facility and the Chittagong navy . " The police in the Belgian municipal region of Geel - Laakdal - Meerhout use the device to detect drugs . Pakistan ' s Airport Security Force also uses the ADE 651 as a bomb detector at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi . Effectiveness . The use of the ADE 651 has prompted strong criticism and eventually led to a ban on the device ' s export from the UK to Iraq and Afghanistan and a criminal investigation of its manufacturer . The Iraqi security forces ' reliance on the device was highlighted by " The New York Times " investigation in November 2009 , which reported that United States military and technical experts believed the device was useless . U . S . Army Major - General Richard Rowe told the newspaper that " there ' s [ no ] magic wand that can detect explosives . If there was , we would all be using it . I have no confidence that these work . " Sandia National Laboratories had carried out testing of several similar devices but found that " none have ever performed better than random chance . " Retired U . S . Air Force Colonel Hal Bidlack , a former national security aide in the Clinton and Bush administrations , condemned the device as " laughable , except someone down the street from you is counting on this to keep bombs off the streets . " An Iraqi guard and driver for " The New York Times " , both of whom were licensed to carry firearms , were able to drive two AK - 47 rifles and ammunition through nine police checkpoints that were using the device without any of them detecting the weapons . Iraqi civilians have complained that the device seems to have " an unerring attraction to shampoo and soapsuds " . According to Iraqi police officer Jasim Hussein , " The vast majority of the people we stop , it ' s because of their perfume " . A fellow officer , Hasan Ouda , commented that " Most people now understand it ' s what gets them searched , so they don ' t use as much . " Jim McCormick of ATSC falsely claimed that the apparent responsiveness of the ADE 651 was due to fragrances containing traces of the explosive substance RDX . The veteran Canadian - American magician and skeptic James Randi has publicly offered one million dollars to anyone who can prove the device ' s effectiveness as far back as October 2008 . Randi issued a statement calling the ADE 651 " a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money . It ' s a fake , a scam , a swindle , and a blatant fraud . Prove me wrong and take the million dollars . " According to Randi , nobody from ATSC has responded . The German news magazine " Der Spiegel " reported that the ADE - 651 had been tested around 2008 in Israel but was " kicked out of the country " . An Israeli explosives expert told the magazine : " The thing has absolutely nothing to do with the detection of explosives . " When it was displayed at an arms and security fair in Beirut in April 2009 , a visiting explosives expert described it as " one big fraud " . Gadi Aviran , the head of the Israeli security firm Terrorgence , said : " If someone comes to an expert , claiming that he had developed a device that can detect the smell of explosives from several meters away , the expert must know that this is physically not possible . " The FBI has repeatedly issued alerts about dowsing rod devices being used as explosive detectors . It described one such device , the Quadro Tracker , as " a fraud " and told all agencies to immediately cease using it . Another alert issued in 1999 told agencies : " Warning . Do not use bogus explosives detection devices . " A U . S . Army test of a similar device found that it was unable to detect a truck carrying a tonne of TNT when it drove up behind the operator . In June 2009 , the U . S . Army carried out a laboratory test including X - ray analysis on the ADE 651 that found it to be ineffective . According to Major Joe Scrocca , " The examination resulted in a determination that there was no possible means by which the ADE 651 could detect explosives and therefore was determined to be totally ineffective and fraudulent . As a result of that study , the U . S . military notified all military and civilian personnel in Iraq that the bomb detection device is ineffective and should not be relied upon as a means of ensuring the safety of any personnel . " Caroline Hawley from the BBC ' s " Newsnight " programme investigated the ADE 651 in a report broadcast in January 2010 , asking the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory to assess one of the " programmed substance detection cards " used in the device to detect TNT . The laboratory found that the card contained only a standard radio frequency security tag of the type used in stores to prevent shoplifting . According to the laboratory ' s Dr . Markus Kuhn , it was " impossible " for the card to detect anything and it had " absolutely nothing to do with the detection of TNT " . The card could not be programmed , had no memory , no microprocessor and no form of information could be stored on it . Despite the high cost of the devices , the cards were worth only about two to three pence ( 3 – 5¢ ) each . Kuhn commented : " These are the cheapest bit of electronics that you can get that look vaguely electronic and are sufficiently flat to fit inside a card . " The " card reader " was found to be an empty plastic box . Psychology professor Bruce Hood has noted that the swinging of the antenna is merely due to its loose assembly and unconscious wrist movements by the user ( " ideomotor phenomenon " ) . Explosives expert Sidney Alford described the device as " immoral " , telling " Newsnight " that " it could result in people being killed in the dozens , if not hundreds " . " Newsnight " noted that thousands of people had indeed been killed and injured in devastating car bomb attacks in Baghdad such as the 25 October and 8 December 2009 Baghdad bombings , without the bombers being detected by the ADE 651 devices . Jim McCormick refused to be interviewed for the " Newsnight " investigation , but told " The New York Times " that ATSC would remain in business : " Our company is still fully operational . " He told " The Times " that ATSC had been dealing with doubters for ten years and that the device was merely being criticised because of its " primitive " appearance . He said : " We are working on a new model that has flashing lights . " Investigations and export ban . United Kingdom . British and American military officers in Iraq brought the ADE651 ' s ineffectiveness to the attention of British police liaison officers in the country . The matter subsequently came to the notice of Colin Port , the Chief Constable of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary and Chair of the International Police Assistance Board , who personally ordered an investigation into James McCormick and ATSC . In January 2010 , ATSC ' s James McCormick was arrested on suspicion of fraud . On 11 July 2012 , McCormick was charged on three counts that between 15 January 2007 , and 12 July 2012 , he had in his possession or control an article for use in the course of or in connection with fraud contrary to Section 6 of the Fraud Act 2006 ; and three further charges that between the same dates he made or adapted , supplied or offered to supply an article knowing it was designed or adapted for use in the course of or in connection with , or intending it to be used to commit , or to assist in a fraud , contrary to Section 7 of the Fraud Act 2006 . Following the 2010 BBC Newsnight exposé of the device , the UK Government ' s Department for Business , Innovation and Skills announced that the BBC tests had shown that " the technology used in the ADE 651 and similar devices is not suitable for bomb detection " and they " could cause harm to UK and other friendly forces in Iraq and Afghanistan " . It had therefore decided to ban the export of the ADE 651 and similar devices to those two countries under the Export Control Act 2002 , with effect from 27 January 2010 . The device had not previously been subject to export restrictions as it was non - military equipment . The department offered " cooperation with any investigation [ the Iraqi authorities ] may wish to make into how the device came to be bought for their military as bomb detection equipment . " The banning order prohibited the export to Iraq and Afghanistan of " ‘ electro - statically powered ’ equipment for detecting ' explosives ' " . James McCormick was tried in March – April 2013 at the Old Bailey in London . The court was told that " the devices did not work and he knew they did not work . He had them manufactured so that they could be sold – and despite the fact they did not work , people bought them for a handsome but unwarranted profit . " McCormick had falsely represented himself as a member of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators , using the organisation ' s logo without permission . McCormick said that he had sold the ADE 651 and similar devices to security forces internationally but none had complained about them . On 23 April 2013 , McCormick was convicted on three counts of fraud . The chief investigating officer in the case , Detective Superintendent Nigel Rock , said : It was disclosed that McCormick had made millions of pounds from sales of the ADE 651 , with which he had bought a farmhouse in Somerset , Nicolas Cage ' s former £3 . 5 million house in Bath with its own basement swimming pool , holiday homes in Cyprus and Florida , a £600 , 000 luxury yacht , and three horses for one of his daughters . The police declared that they would seek to " pursue his wealth " using the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 . McCormick was sentenced to 10 years ' imprisonment on 2 May 2013 . In passing sentence , Mr . Justice Hone said : " Your fraudulent conduct in selling so many useless devices for simply enormous profit promoted a false sense of security and in all probability materially contributed to causing death and injury to innocent individuals . " The judge noted that McCormick had not expressed any remorse or recognition of wrongdoing and said that his " culpability as a fraudster has to be placed in the highest category . " Brigadier Simon Marriner told the court that ADE 651 was clearly implicated in failing to prevent bomb attacks : " The inescapable conclusion is that devices have been detonated after passing through checkpoints . Iraqi civilians have died as a result . " Iraq . The failure of the ADE 651 to prevent a series of bombings in Baghdad and the circumstances of its procurement raised concerns in Iraq even before it became the subject of media exposés . The " New York Times " reported in November 2009 that Aqeel al - Turaihi , the Iraqi Interior Ministry ' s inspector - general , had begun an investigation into the contracts that the ministry had signed with ATSC . The Prime Minister of Iraq , Nouri al - Maliki , also ordered an investigation into the effectiveness of the devices following several bomb attacks . The Iraqi parliament did not order an official investigation but Iraqi MP Nadeem al - Jabiri said : " the security and defence committee in the parliament , headed by Hadi al - Amiri , is following up this matter as part of the parliament ' s duty as a monitoring entity . " The Interior Ministry ' s report noted that " many lives have been lost due to the wands ' utter ineffectiveness " . The report and investigation were later suppressed , and it has been alleged that corruption was the reason , as 75 % of the value of the contract " went to kickbacks received by [ Iraqi ] officials " . The BBC ' s revelations in January 2010 caused outrage in Iraq . A police officer told " The New York Times " : " Our government is to be blamed for all the thousands of innocent spirits who were lost since these devices have been used in Iraq . " MP Ammar Tuma of the Iraqi Parliament ' s Security and Defense Committee said : " This company not only caused grave and massive losses of funds , but it has caused grave and massive losses of the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians , by the hundreds and thousands , from attacks that we thought we were immune to because we have this device . " He told the " Asharq Al - Awsat " newspaper : " The tasks of the committee are limited to two tracks , [ and that is ] reaching the truth over what happened with regards to the signing of the contracts for these bomb detection devices ; firstly by following up on the details of the contract and looking at the background of this , as well as the possibility of collusion by those who signed this contract , or whether this [ ineffectiveness ] is the result of technical weaknesses in these devices . Either of these [ options ] deserves accountability . " He said that Defence Minister Abd al - Qadr Muhammed Jassim al - Obaidi had informed the Iraqi Parliament during emergency parliamentary hearings in 2009 that " the detection of car bombs and explosive material using these devices is very limited , and this increases the likelihood that these devices have low efficiency . " Another MP , Hussain al - Falluji , demanded that Iraqi security forces immediately cease using the ADE 651 . His proposal to establish an investigative committee and seek to recover the money spent on the devices was supported by other parliamentarians . Hadi Al - Ameri , the head of the Parliament ' s Security and Defense Committee , said that he would push for an official investigation to " find out how this piece of equipment was sold to Iraq . " If it was determined that ATSC was responsible he planned to " seek compensation via the ministry of foreign affairs . " MP Haneen Kado said : " If we rely on these devices there is no point in having checkpoints . It makes the whole of Baghdad open to terrorist attacks . We are in a dangerous situation and there could be new bombings at any time . We must investigate exactly who bought and sold these detectors and see that they answer in court . " The Supreme Board of Audit in Iraq announced an investigation into the procurement of the ADE 651 , focusing on the officials who had previously given assurances of the device ' s technical soundness . The Iraqi Army ' s Baghdad Operations Command , which had previously procured 100 of the devices , distanced itself from their use . Major General Qassim al - Moussawi said : " The devices have helped us in parts of our work but in some aspects they are not useful . Their performance does not match our aspirations . There is some percent of error in their performance and these devices must be updated . " Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al - Maliki was reported to have ordered a new investigation of how the devices had been procured , looking into whether there was any corruption involved . According to the Iraqi Interior Ministry ' s inspector - general Aqil al - Turehi , he had investigated the device in 2008 but found it " inoperative " and costly and recommended that Iraq should not buy it . He told Reuters : " There was corruption associated with this contract and we referred to this and submitted our report to the Minister of the Interior . We said that the company which you made a contract with is not well - regarded internationally in the field of explosives detectors , and the price is very high and not commensurate with the abilities of this device . " Al - Turehi said that the buying process had been " marred by suspicions over the equipment and the efficiency and value of the contracts . There were senior officials involved in these transactions . " The initial investigation found that it could detect some bombs and the ministry went ahead with the contract despite al - Turehi ' s concerns . An unnamed Iraqi officer told the Agence France - Presse that " We know it doesn ' t work and that it has been banned [ in Britain ] , but we are continuing to use it . It is bullshit . But still we are lying about it . " Despite the controversy , the device is still being used at checkpoints across Iraq . The Iraqi Interior Ministry has defended the continued use of the ADE - 651 . In 2010 , the then head of the ministry ' s counter - explosives unit , General Jihad al - Jabiri , told the BBC that his organisation had " conducted several tests on them , and found them successful . In addition , we have a series of achievements officially documented by the Baghdad operations centre , from all the provinces , which establish that these devices detected thousands of bombs , booby - trapped houses and car bombs , and we ' ve noticed a reduction of bombing activities to less than 10 per cent of what it was . " A senior ministry official , Assistant Deputy Minister General Tareq al - Asl , told " Asharq Al - Awsat " : " The reason the director of the company was arrested was not because the device doesn ' t work , but because he refused to divulge the secret of how it works to the British authorities , and the Americans before them . I have tested it in practice and it works effectively and 100 % reliably . " In February 2011 , General al - Jabiri was arrested on corruption charges , centering on the ADE 651 device purchase . He was subsequently convicted of taking millions of dollars of bribes from McCormick and was imprisoned along with two other Iraqi officials . Up to 15 Iraqis are said to have been on McCormick ' s payroll , receiving money through a bank in Beirut . Aqil al - Turehi said that he " feel [ s ] furious when I think that this gang of Jim McCormick and the Iraqis working with him killed my people by creating false security and selling such a useless device " . In one incident , a vehicle carrying rockets and missiles travelled undetected through 23 Baghdad checkpoints equipped with the ADE 651 . The false sense of security provided by the device had catastrophic effects for many Iraqi people , hundreds of whom were killed in bombings that the ADE 651 failed to prevent . The victim of one such bombing , 21 - year - old Haneen Alwan , told the BBC that her life had been destroyed after she was caught in a bomb attack which caused injuries that killed her unborn child and prompted her husband to divorce her because of her extensive burns , which have so far required her to undergo 59 operations . She said : " When people passed through checkpoints using these devices , they thought they would be safe . But they are useless . The man who sold them has no conscience . He is morally bankrupt . How could he sell them just for money and destroy other people ' s lives ? " Pakistan . Pakistan purchased ADE 651s for use by the Airports Security Force ( ASF ) . After the ADE 651 became the focus of controversy for its role in Iraq , concerns were raised in Pakistan about its employment as a bomb detector by the ASF . A senior official at Jinnah International Airport denied that the ADE 651 was being used , claiming that the ASF had designed the device in use there , but other ASF officials acknowledged that their device " operated on the same principle as ADE - 651 . " Pakistani scientists rejected the scientific basis on which the device was claimed to work ; Professor Shahid Zaidi of Karachi University told the Pakistani newspaper " Dawn " that " there has to be an electric , magnetic or electromagnetic field for a device to work in such a manner . Furthermore static fields don ’ t move around the way it is being claimed by some . Also don ’ t forget that there are so many radio waves of different frequencies all around us . I just don ’ t see how this device would work . " " Dawn " challenged the ASF to test the device to confirm its effectiveness but the ASF refused , insisting that the device works . Belgium . The Belgian police bought an ADE 651 in 2008 for £12 , 800 to detect drugs , as a supposedly cheaper alternative to a dog . According to Superintendent Theiry Meunier , it was soon apparent that it was ineffective : " We had no results from it . We tried to use the device for detecting drugs in cars for several months . We also provided the detector to detectives seeking to detect drugs . The results again were negative . " Lebanon . The Lebanese Army bought ADE 651s . In addition , the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( UNIFIL ) bought five ADE 651s at a cost of £46 , 000 to detect explosives in vehicles . ATSC offered the UN a further 80 of the devices , but declined to provide evidence that the ADE 651 could do what was claimed and suggested that the UN should carry out its own tests . UNIFIL did so over the course of two days but found that the device was " not fit for purpose " . Other countries . The ADE 651 was also sold to customers in Algeria , Bahrain , Bangladesh , Georgia , India , Iran , Kenya , Niger , Qatar , Romania , Tunisia , Saudi Arabia , Syria , the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam ; The Mövenpick Hotel in Bahrain bought one to detect car bombs but , according to the hotel ' s head of security , who gave evidence to the Old Bailey trial it could not even detect a firework : " It wasn ’ t working . It wasn ’ t working at all " . The Mövenpick hotel ceased using the device following the intervention of the Bahrain Ministry of Interior in mid 2010 at the beginning of an enquiry in co - operation with UK Police which continued until the trial of McCormick in April 2013 . Other similar devices . Another " remote substance detector " device , the Global Technical GT200 , has come under scrutiny in Thailand in the wake of the controversy over the ADE 651 . The " Bangkok Post " reports that the GT200 is virtually identical to the ADE 651 and has been described by critics as a " divining rod " which uses " controller cards " , like the ADE 651 , to find explosives . The " Post " attributes the death of several Royal Thai Police officers to its repeated failures to detect explosives . The Quadro Tracker , also known as the Positive Molecular Locator , was a similar device sold by Quadro Corp . of Harleyville , South Carolina between 1993 and 1996 . Several other similar long range locator devices are being marketed in various countries , including the HEDD1 ( formerly known as Sniffex Plus ) , marketed by Unival in Germany ; Alpha 6 , marketed by ComsTrac in the UK ; PSD - 22 ; and H3Tec . An apparent recycling of the Quadro Tracker turned up as the DKLabs Lifeguard , which had a similar appearance and made ambitious claims about being able to locate survivors missing under rubble or hiding in shipping containers . It has been proven to be useless in tests by Sandia National Labs .