So, Iran's Revolutionary Guards unvelied a "magnetic" coronavirus detector today, which its chief Maj-Gen Hossein Salami claimed could detect an infected individual or contaminated surface in 5 secs within a diametre of 100m. But there's a HUGE problem...
Their "smart Covid-19 detector" bears an uncanny resemblance to three fake bomb detector tools, sold by four British fraudsters more than a decade ago, which ended up in conflict zones and were used by a number of governments around the world 
@carolinehawley and @MeirionTweets investigvated them at the time. Eempty cases with an aerial which swings according to unconscious hand movements. They were used in a number of countries in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-294598…
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-294598…
These are the ADE-651 sold by James McCormick who is now serving 10 years in jail, the GT200 "remote substance detector" sold by Gary Bolton, and the Alpha 6 sold by Samuel and Joan Tree who were given 3.5 years behind bars and 300 hours of unpaid community work respectively
The device tested in an Iranian hospital today seems to be a repurposed version of those fake detectors, with an almost identical case and antenna. Even the packaging of the device, which can be seen in a clip of it being unvelied on Iranain state TV, looks similar!!
Another similar device, branded "electronic fuel detectors" by Iranian auhtorities, was used at check points across the country three years ago to spot and detain fuel smugglers
irna.ir/news/82549347/…
irna.ir/news/82549347/…
Who initially claimed to have "invented" this new "detector" in Iran?! This guy 👇He claimed a few years ago to have created a tool that could detect liquids, solids, and smuggled fuel! The man testing this Covid-19 detector at an Iranian hospital today, is him!!
If you want a good, educational explanation of how these fake detectors work and fool people into believing their "magic", watch this video by journalist @MeirionTweets
It covers everything that you need to know about these fake devices
It covers everything that you need to know about these fake devices
If you need to find out the actual human and financial cost of these bogus devices, watch these two amazing reports by the great @carolinehawley One from Baghdad about the ADE651
And this one, again by @carolinehawley and this time the GT200 in Thailand
@dan_isaacs and I wrote a short note about this "Covid-19 detector" for the BBC News coronavirus live page today
