‘Fake’ bomb detectors being used by hotel guards in Egypt

Cairo/London: As British and Egyptian authorities continue to assure tourists trapped in Sharm Al Shaikh that all possible measures are being taken to ensure their safety, some bomb detectors being used by some hotel staff have been exposed as fake.

Security guards at hotels in the Red Sea resort have been seen using gadgets believed to be based on those sold around the world by jailed conmen and women.

The sightings came as thousands of tourists continue to be stranded amid increased security measures following the Russian plane crash that killed all 224 people on board on 31 October.

Sinai province, Daesh’s affiliate in the region, immediately claimed it downed Metrojet flight 9628 and Britain was among the countries believing a bomb hidden in the hold was the most likely cause of the disaster.

Security has been increased in Sharm Al Shaikh and the region as investigations continue and the Egyptian tourism industry seeks to assure visitors of their safety.

But Paul Beaver, a security analyst, told the Independent that it seemed to be a version of those sold to several governments before being exposed as a scam two years ago.

“They have no power to detect anything and mislead the public by giving them an entirely false sense of security,” he added.

“[Daesh] operatives planning an attack would be wise to them and would know instantly that they offer no protection at checkpoints.”

The Egyptian foreign ministry said it was aware of the devices but added that other procedures were in place.

“Across the resort, airport style scanners, sniffer dogs, body searches, metal detectors, private security, police and CCTV are being used to keep tourists safe,” a spokesperson said.

“We will continue to raise our concerns over the use of the devices in question.

“While we have updated our advice on travelling to Sharm Al Shaikh by air, we have not changed the threat level for the resort.”

Moscow acknowledged Monday for the first time a terrorist attack could have caused last month’s Russian plane crash in Egypt, as thousands more tourists were evacuated from the country.

Britain and the US, as well as international investigators, suspect a bomb exploded on board the Metrojet A-321 plane, but Egyptian officials insist there is no evidence yet of an attack on the aircraft.

Russia had also previously refrained from blaming the crash, which killed all 224 people on board, on terrorists until Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s admission.

“The possibility of an act of terror is of course there as the reason for what happened,” Medvedev said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta state newspaper.

A growing international chorus has backed the theory that the plane was downed in an attack, with British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond saying Monday it was “more likely than not” that the plane was downed by an “explosive device placed on board”.

And Airbus chief Fabrice Bregier said no technical fault has yet been detected for the crash of the A-321.

“I can say that so far, what we got from the investigation didn’t trigger any action, technical action on our side, regarding the A-321 fleet,” said Bregier.

“But we need to wait for the conclusion of the investigations.”

Sources close to the probe have told AFP that experts involved in the investigation, with the exception of the Egyptians, “strongly favour” the theory of a bomb on board.

Egypt has pushed back against mounting international concerns that a bomb brought down the plane, with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry saying it was too early to form a “hypothesis”.