Heading North this a.m., we pull into the Checkpoint at El Chinero.
They line up six or so vehicles in the lane, WAIT, and then a soldier walks over to the back and proceeds SLOWLY forward with what looks like
a long-thin cylinder with an antenna sticking out of the top at a right-angle. He appears to be monitoring a display or meter at the top.
?????????????
BTW, I've "wondered" until today how sensitive the Sentri RFID equipment was. Pulling up to the sensor with the cards sitting on my knee, as
I reached down, it had already read both before I brought them up.
Interesting. Guess those foil shields ARE really important.Bajatripper - 4-7-2012 at 09:47 PM
They are one of the biggest post-911 rip-offs of all time. Useless and expensive.Fernweh - 4-8-2012 at 07:28 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh
They are one of the biggest post-911 rip-offs of all time. Useless and expensive.
Useless? The Mexican agencies bought over 900 units - and I believe, lined somebody's pocket pretty good - very tiny micro economics David K - 4-8-2012 at 08:19 AM
From the link Steve gave:
The device is also widely used in Mexico, where security forces have used it to combat drug traffickers[27] and to search for explosives.[28] The
Mexican government has spent over 17 million pesos ($1.3 million) buying GT200s at a cost of 286,000 pesos ($22,000) each.[29] According to the
government of Guanajuato state, the federal government has bought more than 700 GT200s.[30] State governments have also bought their own GT200s; the
device is reported to be in use by police in the Mexican states of Tabasco, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Michoacán and Baja California.[31] The Mexican
military also utilises the GT200. In 2008 the Secretariat of National Defense had purchased 300 GT200s for use throughout the country, including at
133 strategic locations.[32] 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.[33] In the violence-wracked city of Ciudad Juárez, the newspaper Excélsior 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.[34] Prison personnel in Juárez
and its parent state, Chihuahua, have been provided with GT200s to detect escape tunnels being dug by prisoners.[35]
NOW, the question IS .............
MrBillM - 4-8-2012 at 03:07 PM
Are They THAT dumb or are they "Having a Lark" as the Brits like to say, at the expense of others ?
they need a good sniffer/dog
thebajarunner - 4-8-2012 at 07:12 PM
Came back through Newark customs last month from Israel.
Little brown pooch wandered over, sniffed (I muttered "nice doggy, keep moving")
He eased over to the lady standing next to me, sniffed and plopped down on his butt.
Here comes the lady with the big gun, open purse, pull out baggy, adios nice lady standing next to me.
Seems to me that they could buy some well trained dogs for a lot less than these devices, and dogs are nice to have around when there is no one else
to hassle.
Just my thoughtsBajatripper - 4-8-2012 at 07:24 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
Are They THAT dumb or are they "Having a Lark" as the Brits like to say, at the expense of others ?
More likely just a little corruption-and-kickback. Kind of like the US Navy's $900 toilet seats installed on the P-3 Orion aircraft.David K - 4-8-2012 at 07:25 PM
