tranq
Bluelighter
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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ine-laboratories/story-fnb64oi6-1226490689735
A SIM card is many things - data centre, address book, key to many a mobile phone and now the digital equivalent of the drug-sniffing police dog.
With a device inspired by the experiences of a software engineer from New Zealand, Vodafone is working with an Auckland-based company to help to tackle the country's growing methamphetamine problem.
Now the telecoms giant is exploring ways in which it could convert the technology for use elsewhere, including in Britain, where it could be retuned to detect a variety of illegal substances.
New Zealand and Australia have the highest rates of methamphetamine usage in the world. A little-known side-effect of the drug's popularity is the damage caused to properties where it is produced, because of the corrosive chemicals involved.
Tens of thousands of homes in New Zealand have been rendered uninhabitable, with landlords forced to pull down some of the worst affected. Even those properties that have been cleaned up lose about a third of their value, as it is illegal for a landlord not to warn potential buyers about the previous use of toxic chemicals on site.
RECOMMENDED COVERAGE
US student arrested over drug smuggling
MethMinder, a small local business, has developed a device that works like a smoke alarm to detect the chemicals used to make crystal meth. The tamper-proof box is installed on a wall of the property as a deterrent to potential meth "cooks" scouting for a new location. It is fitted with a Vodafone SIM card that sends out a warning to both the police and the landlord should it detect the constituents of methamphetamine in the air.
The invention was the brainchild of Ken Hetherington, a software engineer from Pakuranga, Auckland, who became aware of the problem when a friend was forced to spend $28,500 to repair a holiday home that had been converted into a lab. MethMinder and Vodafone started testing the boxes in 2008 and have since rolled them out to thousands of homes across New Zealand.
Usage of crystal meth, often a cheap substitute for cocaine, is not widespread in Britain. Estimated figures detailed in the Home Office's British Crime Survey shows that less than 400,000 people have tried the drug and only 34,000 have used it in the past year. Drugscope, the charity, said that it is not a common feature of the UK drug scene.
However, the MethMinder device potentially could be used to tackle other types of illegal drug use in the UK. Almost 300,000 people in Britain have used more readily available amphetamines such as speed, while 2.37 million have used cannabis.
Vodafone and MethMinder say that they are not out to catch the cooks themselves. "It is designed as a deterrent. We have had people try and remove the device, triggering tamper alarms. Landlords consider that to be a great success," a MethMinder spokesman said.
However, the technology has not been without some teething problems. Some alarms have been activated in apartment blocks that use outside air to cool buildings.
"From time to time, this results in an alarm in one of the flats being triggered as what is believed to be a mobile lab kicks into action," the MethMinder spokesman said.
A SIM card is many things - data centre, address book, key to many a mobile phone and now the digital equivalent of the drug-sniffing police dog.
With a device inspired by the experiences of a software engineer from New Zealand, Vodafone is working with an Auckland-based company to help to tackle the country's growing methamphetamine problem.
Now the telecoms giant is exploring ways in which it could convert the technology for use elsewhere, including in Britain, where it could be retuned to detect a variety of illegal substances.
New Zealand and Australia have the highest rates of methamphetamine usage in the world. A little-known side-effect of the drug's popularity is the damage caused to properties where it is produced, because of the corrosive chemicals involved.
Tens of thousands of homes in New Zealand have been rendered uninhabitable, with landlords forced to pull down some of the worst affected. Even those properties that have been cleaned up lose about a third of their value, as it is illegal for a landlord not to warn potential buyers about the previous use of toxic chemicals on site.
RECOMMENDED COVERAGE
US student arrested over drug smuggling
MethMinder, a small local business, has developed a device that works like a smoke alarm to detect the chemicals used to make crystal meth. The tamper-proof box is installed on a wall of the property as a deterrent to potential meth "cooks" scouting for a new location. It is fitted with a Vodafone SIM card that sends out a warning to both the police and the landlord should it detect the constituents of methamphetamine in the air.
The invention was the brainchild of Ken Hetherington, a software engineer from Pakuranga, Auckland, who became aware of the problem when a friend was forced to spend $28,500 to repair a holiday home that had been converted into a lab. MethMinder and Vodafone started testing the boxes in 2008 and have since rolled them out to thousands of homes across New Zealand.
Usage of crystal meth, often a cheap substitute for cocaine, is not widespread in Britain. Estimated figures detailed in the Home Office's British Crime Survey shows that less than 400,000 people have tried the drug and only 34,000 have used it in the past year. Drugscope, the charity, said that it is not a common feature of the UK drug scene.
However, the MethMinder device potentially could be used to tackle other types of illegal drug use in the UK. Almost 300,000 people in Britain have used more readily available amphetamines such as speed, while 2.37 million have used cannabis.
Vodafone and MethMinder say that they are not out to catch the cooks themselves. "It is designed as a deterrent. We have had people try and remove the device, triggering tamper alarms. Landlords consider that to be a great success," a MethMinder spokesman said.
However, the technology has not been without some teething problems. Some alarms have been activated in apartment blocks that use outside air to cool buildings.
"From time to time, this results in an alarm in one of the flats being triggered as what is believed to be a mobile lab kicks into action," the MethMinder spokesman said.
