Officers from the City of London Police investigating the fraudulent selling of bomb and substance detection equipment on June 8 carried out a number of searches in Devon, Kent and Nottinghamshire.
The force’s Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit (OACU) executed five search warrants at three residential and two business premises of Global Technical Ltd in Kent, Grosvenor Scientific Ltd in Devon and Scandec Inc. in Nottingham.
Officers seized a large amount of cash, several hundred detection devices, their component parts and carry cases. A number of people are to be interviewed under caution on suspicion of fraud by false representation and related matters.
It’s described as part of an ongoing investigation by the City of London Police’s OACU, a specialist team investigating international corruption and bribery. Officers have previously searched two further residential premises and a business address as part of the same investigation.
The inquiry centres on the sale of equipment that is claimed to be capable of detecting a number of substances, including explosives and drugs, dependent on how the handheld device is pre-programmed.
Police report that tests by a number of respected official testing establishments have failed to find any scientific explanation for how the equipment could operate and indicate that under controlled conditions, the success rate is less than would be achieved randomly.
As well as the inquiry into whether the detectors’ abilities have been fraudulently misrepresented, City of London Police is also investigating whether the sale of these items to overseas jurisdictions within conflict areas has been assisted by the payments of bribes or kickbacks to the procurement agents.
Various models of the equipment have been sold, in the main to overseas authorities. They have been marketed under a number of different descriptions but most incorporate a plastic handle with an extendable aerial arm similar to divining apparatus. The devices are colloquially known as ‘wands’.
The head of the OACU, Det Supt Colin Cowan, appealed for information on the product: “We are concerned that these items present a real physical threat to anyone who may rely on such a device for protection. It is for this reason that we are seeking to raise awareness of this threat and obtain assistance from the public.”
