GE Security’s MobileTrace Helps Iredell County Sheriff Identify Narcotics-Tainted Cash
17 June 2008
GE Security, a business of GE Enterprise Solutions, today announced that MobileTrace, a handheld trace detection instrument capable of simultaneous explosives and narcotics detection, played a critical role in the recent seizure of nearly $300,000 in cash hidden in a rental car dashboard.
During a recent traffic stop in Iredell County, N.C., the sheriff’s highway drug interdiction unit used a GE Security MobileTrace portable explosives and narcotics detection unit to confirm the presence of traces of narcotics on $293,805 found secreted in the dashboard of the rental car involved.
“The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office has a track record of pioneering the use of advanced technologies to make law enforcement activities more effective and efficient and their use of MobileTrace is a great example of this,” said Vincent Ortega, national security specialist, GE Security’s homeland protection business. “We’re pleased to see the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office continues to successfully use GE Security’s narcotics detection technology to support their efforts.”
“The GE Security MobileTrace instrument allows us to collect evidence and evaluate key findings in the field in a more efficient and timely manner than ever before,” said Phillip H. Redmond, Iredell County Sheriff. “GE Security has been a great partner for advanced technologies and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with them and provide important experiences from our field work that will help make advanced technologies like MobileTrace more effective as crime fighting tools for our community and other law enforcement agencies.”
The Iredell Sheriff’s department was chosen for a 30–60 day MobileTrace trial based on its extensive successful employment of GE Security’s desktop trace detection units in support of law enforcement over the past two years, as well as for its commitment to the elimination of drug trafficking in the area.
“MobileTrace, introduced in July 2007, is already in use by a variety of customers around the world and is increasingly being recognized as a smart, reliable, and effective tool for law enforcement field use,” said Stephen McGugan, national manager of law enforcement, GE Security’s homeland protection business. “It has been our consistent goal to provide law enforcement with solutions that make a difference in the communities they protect, and that is exactly what GE Security is doing with MobileTrace.”
MobileTrace’s simultaneous dual-mode detection, combined with a state-of-the-art battery for longer life provides users with the capabilities needed to stay ahead of the growing substance detection challenges, in both law enforcement and military operations. MobileTrace also expands the range of target explosives that can be identified in a single sample for faster, more comprehensive security screenings.
