Contraband detection is important for law enforcement and government agencies to locate illegal contraband being transported in and around the country. It’s one of many tools including amazing canines and other tech to help with contraband detection. These agencies depend on contraband detection tools they can trust like the Buster K910B Density Meter, manufactured by Campbell/Harris Security Equipment Company (CSECO). Designed with the help of United States Customs and Border Protection agents in the mid-1980s, the Buster has been the contraband detector of choice for government agencies and law enforcement groups (federal, state and local) since that time because it is proven and effective; it has been for nearly 30 years.
Ports and border crossings around the country are the areas where the Buster and other CSECO contraband detectors are used more often. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents need tools which enable them to quickly detect the presence of contraband. State and local police departments may also use this technology for normal, daily traffic stops. No matter where it is used, it is vital that these groups are able to trust the tools to effectively locate and alert them to possible contraband including drugs, ‘dirty bombs’ or other explosive components, weapons or currency.
CSECO President Tony Harris was interviewed for the June 26, 2013 issue of PoliceMag.com. He said, “In the early 1980s, there wasn’t much technology to help the Border Patrol to determine if someone was smuggling something inside a vehicle.” He continued that they used what they had at their disposal, rudimentary tools and their hands, in order to inspect vehicles they suspected of transporting contraband. Without the right tools, they often missed contraband.
Patrick J. Campbell, founder of CSECO, was approached by the federal government in the early 1980s and tasked with developing a tool, similar to his density gauge, which could detect hidden contraband. He worked closely with CBP agents to create a tool that they could use effectively n the field. The Buster, the culmination of the work between Campbell and CBP agents, detects contraband by using back-scatter technology and low-intensity gamma radiation.
The Buster measures the density of an object and produces two types of alerts – audible as well as visual – when there is a discrepancy with the density of an object. CBP agents would be alerted when there is a change in density for an object since most objects have specific density and do not change. The agents would be able to further inspect the object to determine if contraband was present. The Buster, along with the CSECO FV Series Fiberscope, enables inspection without having to dismantle the vehicle and the problems that can follow if nothing is located.
First responders use the Buster because it has Rad-Aware® radiation detection technology. When they arrive on the scene of a suspected ‘dirty bomb’ detonation or where they believe radioactive materials might be, the Buster enables them to establish a perimeter to keep people safe.
The CSECO FV Series Fiberscope is another tool law enforcement and CBP trust. It allows officers to see inside dark, small places to detect contraband. Using 16,000 fiber optic strands which have been wrapped in tungsten, the Fiberscope can be snaked into a vehicles fuel tank, behind the door’s panels and through vent openings. Since the tungsten wrap protects the fiber optic strands, it is protected from diesel fuel or gasoline. It has an ocular unit and two-way articulation which enables users to reach areas the naked eye could not reach. When the optional video attachment is used, the agents can record their inspection as well as allow others to view it in real-time.
In the 30 years it has been available those in the CBP and law enforcement have turned to the Buster contraband detector time and time again. They know they can trust it implicitly to lead them to hidden contraband, verify the presence of contraband, help them remove the contraband and ensure their officers and agents remain safe.
