Use of GT200 'will Continue'

14 Juli 2012

GT200 bomb detector (photo : thaivisa)

The army will not stop using the GT200 bomb detector despite doubts over the efficiency of a similar device, army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha says.

Gen Prayuth yesterday said the GT200 will continue to be used by the army in the far South.

He shrugged off the concerns raised in the report by the BBC's Newsnight programme on Thursday. On the programme, Avon and Somerset Police in the UK said a British man, Jim McCormick, 55, would face six charges including producing and supplying ADE 651 devices knowing they were ineffectively designed or adapted to detect bombs.

The GT200 is very similar to the ADE 651, which uses a dowsing rod method.

"I affirm that the device is still effective. Other armed forces are also using it," the army chief said.

However, if the GT200 device is to be withdrawn for any reason, it must be replaced by other instruments.

The British government has banned the export of the ADE 651 devices to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The GT200 has been widely used by security officers in Thailand's troubled deep South.

The army chief said the GT200 has proven to be effective in the army's operations in the past. But he would respect any scientific test if it proves otherwise.

(Bangkok Post)