PETN in Escondido

[AdamG]

We need a popcorn smiley. This is gonna be interesting.


The resident of the home, George Jakubec, 54, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Serbia, is charged with possession of explosive devices, possession of bomb-making materials, bank robbery and burglary.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/plastic-explosive-petn-found-in-escondido-home.html

[AdamG]

ESCONDIDO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared San Diego County a disaster area because of the discovery of a massive stockpile of highly explosive materials in a home in an unincorporated area near Escondido.

Schwarzenegger's declaration comes a day after the San Diego County Board of Supervisors requested that he declare a state of emergency.



The house at 1954 Via Scott has been under scrutiny since Nov. 18 when 49-year-old Mario Garcia of Fallbrook sustained serious but not life- threatening injuries when he stepped on something akin to a land mine in the yard, causing a small explosion. Resident George Jakubec, 54, was arrested later the same day.

Authorities plan to burn down the house.

http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Governor-Declares-State-of-Emergency-for/PthcV9RFbU6ocSScz8rAkQ.cspx

From 24 Nov


So far, 12 pounds of highly explosive chemicals have been discovered at the home, along with thirteen grenades wrapped with shrapnel and nine detonators.
http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Search-Warrant-Reveals-New-Insights-into-Alleged/tt6g0cmU9Ee5EOG092KVTQ.cspx

[Tukhachevskii]

Maybe some Croat's moved next door?:o

[Boondoggle]

Lurking (much) more than commenting now but of interest...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/dec/03/bomb-suspect-indicted-federal-charges-state-charge/

Federal charges filed against bomb suspect; state charges dropped
By J. Harry Jones and Pauline Repard

The man suspected of creating a “bomb factory” at his rented house near Escondido has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to making destructive devices and robbing three banks. All state charges against him were dropped Friday morning.

[AdamG]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B74R520101208


But an FBI bomb technician James Verdi testified at Wednesday's hour long court hearing that explosive chemicals detected throughout the cluttered house were too volatile to be safely removed.

One type of chemical, called HMTD, is so unstable that it can be set off by "someone stepping on it," Verdi said.

He said agents had found evidence of past explosions in the house, including a sliding glass door and windows that had been blown out and boarded up and buckled, soot-covered walls.

This has comedy blockbuster written all over it - maybe a Randy Quaid comeback vehicle?

[jcustis]

Law enforcement either blocked off Hwy 15 (yeah, pretty significant) in both lanes today or will do so tomorrow, in order to perform a controlled burn of the home and reduce the place.

[AdamG]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_BHo2hyL2Y

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B85N120101210

Reading music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adgx9wt63NY

[AdamG]

Related : PETN Pancakes.
http://gizmodo.com/5712481/fool-the-tsas-scanners-with-pancakes

Mmmmmmm... pancakes...

[Stan]

Related : PETN Pancakes.
http://gizmodo.com/5712481/fool-the-tsas-scanners-with-pancakes

Mmmmmmm... pancakes...

Wouldn't want to go that route with some of the EDDs in Europe and on most military bases where patrol dogs respond aggressively :D

Most of the modern day X-rays not only detect organic materials, they are based on a multitude of primary explosive compounds.

He would be better off shoving that pancake where the sun doesn't shine !

[Stan]

Most of the modern day X-rays not only detect organic materials, they are based on a multitude of primary explosive compounds.


Me Again !

Just thought I would spice things up with a 2003 pic that we use to train airport personnel with. The purpose is to add some fact to the fictional Sierra that gizmo purports. This pic was taken with a minuscule 5 pulses. If I open the back panel and fire her up to 90, I would have far greater detail, but most of the males in the surrounding 50-meter area would never, ever worry about offspring again :rolleyes:

It's training and the right personnel to do the job at hand.

As for the bonehead who writes this crap... Please come with your pancake and allow me to introduce you to our EDDs and handlers :cool:

Feel free to identify the parts in this pic... Your life may very well depend on it.

[bourbon]

He would be better off shoving that pancake where the sun doesn't shine !
My bet is that this is where AQAP is going if it attempts another airline bombing; hiding PETN in a body cavity. It is a win-win either way for AQ. A failed or thwarted attempt will bring on even more invasive airport security measures in the US.

People just will not want to fly if they have to be strip searched, or subjected to a body cavity exam. The economic costs to the US will be significant.

[Stan]

My bet is that this is where AQAP is going if it attempts another airline bombing; hiding PETN in a body cavity. It is a win-win either way for AQ. A failed or thwarted attempt will bring on even more invasive airport security measures in the US.

Well, that has already been attempted (http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/saudi-suicide-bomber-hid-ied-his-anal-cavity) and literally failed along with his guts being spewed all over the walls.

Sadly, the technology already exists without so-called invasive measures and that techno is nearly 25 years old. It does however require that the individual responsible know what he/she is actually looking at. My point above. I'm not going to hire a trash truck driver to take X-rays at a hospital trauma center, but yet, someone thinks that can be done at airports :rolleyes:


People just will not want to fly if they have to be strip searched, or subjected to a body cavity exam. The economic costs to the US will be significant.

Couldn't agree with you more. Don't mind the searching, but flying home at twice the cost and risk some idiot not liking the way I look... No thanks !

[bourbon]

Well, that has already been attempted (http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/saudi-suicide-bomber-hid-ied-his-anal-cavity) and literally failed along with his guts being spewed all over the walls.
The assassination attempt failed, yes, but the device was smuggled through the security measures required to be in proximity to the Prince. For an airliner they would just have to get through the security measures, for the most part. Conceivably, the device could also be extracted from the body cavity once airborne, and positioned elsewhere.


Sadly, the technology already exists without so-called invasive measures and that techno is nearly 25 years old. It does however require that the individual responsible know what he/she is actually looking at. My point above. I'm not going to hire a trash truck driver to take X-rays at a hospital trauma center, but yet, someone thinks that can be done at airports :rolleyes:
Yeah, it’s the scale required that is the problem. Getting enough trained and qualified for it to be effective; is that even going to be feasible?

[Stan]

The assassination attempt failed, yes, but the device was smuggled through the security measures required to be in proximity to the Prince. For an airliner they would just have to get through the security measures, for the most part. Conceivably, the device could also be extracted from the body cavity once airborne, and positioned elsewhere.

Yes, the "so-called" device was successfully smuggled past Saudi security, but there was no scan performed (according to the sites I access) and it's also apparent that the Suadis let their guard down (something they clearly admitted. A known terrorist being permitted into a secure area and then have relatively easy communications access is stupid IMO). What this however has done is raise our awareness regarding scans much like previous "contents" hidden in shoes and liquids.


Yeah, it’s the scale required that is the problem. Getting enough trained and qualified for it to be effective; is that even going to be feasible?

I can see this being a real pain and the airlines taking revenue losses, but I can equally see a very expensive aircraft and 250 lost souls being more expensive than a bankruptcy claim. We would then justify minimalistic standards how ?

[bourbon]

I can see this being a real pain and the airlines taking revenue losses, but I can equally see a very expensive aircraft and 250 lost souls being more expensive than a bankruptcy claim. We would then justify minimalistic standards how ?
I mean in the literal sense, like: we need X amount of qualified personnel, which require Y level of training to be effective, and the number of training cadre available is Z.

How long would it take for Z to train X number of people to the level of Y? Six months, one year, a decade?

[Stan]

I mean in the literal sense, like: we need X amount of qualified personnel, which require Y level of training to be effective, and the number of training cadre available is Z.

How long would it take for Z to train X number of people to the level of Y? Six months, one year, a decade?

I would give each State a year to attain qualified people and each year re-qualify them while qualifying another group, and so on.

How many is enough ? The average is 5 per gate with at least two being instructor qualified. When there's nothing going on, they should be training and when the passengers are piling up, the teams should slow down (the airlines and inspectors are not at fault because the pax are in a rush and thought they could show up 5 minutes before boarding).

We (7 to 8 senior instructors) train on the average 12 people each week at both the harbors and airports. Customs officials are welcome but not required to attend. Because my training days are often Wednesdays I usually see the same 10 to 12 folks. In total this year we have trained over 100 inspectors in 15 different categories (levels if you will) which take into account most of the bad things over the last five years. That's now covered four ports, three border crossings and three airports in as much as 2 to 3 languages with just 7 to 8 people.

The folks that graduated this year are now instructor qualified for CY2011 and will requal this time next year.

Since 2002 we have trained and certified over 750 public and private workers.

In addition, our dog handlers also perform training at the above mentioned locations where EDDs are used. An EDD is trained much like a drug dog and must identify up to eight explosive compounds in order to retain qualification each year. In order to be fair and remain impartial, evaluators cannot be dog handlers.

If someone thinks PETN is not detectable, they are in for a real surprise.

As much as I love watching a German Shepherd go haywire, I really like it when an inspector declares "additional searching is required. Please go with this officer." :D

In sum, your people, the x-ray and EDDs are all just tools in our kit bag and knowing how and when to employ them is half the battle.