Cops now armed with radioactive detecting devices

Hamrah showing the pager-sized device

CYBERJAYA: Policemen are now armed with radioactive detecting devices as the crackdown on foreign terrorist elements continues ahead of the SEA Games.

Another massive coordinated swoop at areas with high concentration of Middle Eastern migrants that started at around 9pm Wednesday saw hundreds of foreigners being rounded up.

Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division head Deputy Comm Datuk Ayob Khan said this was the first time the police were using such devices in conducting the security operations.

"Before this we would not know if we entered a premise that had radioactive material, but with these devices my men will not be exposed," he said when met during the raid.

He said that three types of devices of varying sizes and sensitivity were used.

The smallest is the size of a pager, along with a slightly bigger sized handheld device while the biggest and most sensitive can be carried as a backpack, he said.

Atomic Energy Licensing Board director-general Hamrah Mohd Ali, whose agency provide the devices, said the devices can detect gamma rays and neutron rays.

"These devices called RadEye will also be used during the SEA Games to detect any possible elements of radioactive materials," he said.

A total of eight backpack-sized, eight handhelds and 95 pager-sized devices have been provided to the police, said DCP Ayob.

The raid had police personnel from various departments, immigration, and other relevant agencies coordinating closely.

It saw doors being broken down, policemen entering every shop and house and checking every person.

Many foreigners, both with and without proper documents, were rounded up. Some who resisted were subdued quickly.

"We will bring them all to Sepang police headquarters to check them through our and Interpol's foreign terrorist fighters database," he said.

Asked if such tactics were excessive, DCP Ayob said they were necessary to use.

"We have to take proactive measures as these people are from high risk countries in the Middle East like Syria and Yemen," he said.