Mosman device hoax: how bomb squad would have cracked it

Forget what you've seen in the movies, defusing bombs is a much tougher and drawn-out process than just snipping the correct wire, bomb disposal experts say. Even though the device in yesterday's Mosman scare turned out to contain no explosives, it remained attached to the terrified Sydney teenager Madeleine Pulver for 10 hours during an operation to remove it involving X-rays and advice from British military experts. Felix Hearn, a retired captain with the British army who was an Ammunition Technical Officer with training in bomb disposal, said in cases such as the Mosman ordeal the first police officers to arrive on the scene would evacuate the area and form a cordon. It was also often essential to turn off the gas main, close nearby roads or even close air space. When the bomb disposal officer arrives, he or she would immediately seek as much information as possible from police and witnesses. When the bomb is fitted to a person, much information could be obtained from the victim, typically using a microphone attached to a bomb disposal robot. However, in this case, a female police officer decided to risk her own safety by staying with Ms Pulver and keeping her calm. "You can get a good idea of what you're dealing with without even seeing the bomb," Mr Hearn said. Mr Hearn said that often a bomb disposal robot could carry out the whole process of defusing the bomb but this was nearly impossible when it was attached to a person. He said collar bombs come in several variations. Often they can be set off remotely by a device such as a mobile phone, other times there's a timer - and in both situations the bomb could be booby trapped to explode when tampered with. Mr Hearn said the type of bomb was typically determined using an X-ray which would also be able to precisely locate the main charge, detonator or any timers. NSW Police have already revealed an X-ray was used in the Mosman incident. "It's very hard to deal with a bomb remotely [using a robot] if it's around someone's neck, so you're going to have to go there and manually disrupt it yourself as a bomb disposal operator," Mr Hearn said. At this point, once the type of bomb was determined, the technicians would have sought specialist advice, he said. NSW Police said it received advice from British military experts and the Australian Federal Police. "You would [then] get your screwdriver out and your pliers and you'd take it apart ... there's a possibility you can set off the bomb if you don't know what you're doing and you get it wrong," he said. "But that's why they went to so much trouble to get intelligence and information about the bomb before they went down there." Mr Hearn said the technicians would have tried to release the person from the collar before attempting to defuse it either manually or with a robot. It is not clear if a robot was used in this case. "It's the worst-case scenario if they have to do the whole process with both the bomb disposal operator there and the victim," he said. Collar bombs: a violent history The Mosman ordeal is reminiscent of the case of Brian Wells, an American pizza delivery man involved in a bank robbery. Wells, 46, entered a bank with a device around his neck and a note identifying it as a bomb. The teller filled a bag with money and handed it to Wells before he left the bank and drove away. Police caught up with him in a nearby parking lot but before the bomb squad could arrive the device exploded, killing Wells. It was later revealed that Wells was part of the scheme but was told by his accomplices that the bomb was not real. The incident was used as the basis for episodes of Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Flashpoint. A comedy loosely inspired by the events, 30 Minutes or Less, stars Jesse Eisenberg and is scheduled to be released in the US this month. Collar bombs are also used often by terrorists such as Colombian revolutionaries who kidnap wealthy individuals and kill them if a ransom is not paid. In 2000, armed men with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia broke into Elvia Cortes's house in a rural area near Bogota and demanded the equivalent of $US7500. They placed a collar around her neck and told her if she did not pay it would explode. Bomb disposal experts tried for hours to defuse the device but it exploded, decapitating Ms Cortes and killing the bomb technician. Trembler switch a major risk Roy Ramm, a former commander of specialist operations with Scotland Yard's hostage response team, said the Mosman case had received significant media attention in Britain. He said the police who went to Ms Pulver's aid would have faced an extremely complex and stressful situation, including the prospect of the device being remotely detonated, or set off by a trembler switch. He said police would have had to keep her extremely still - trembler switches activate bombs when devices are tilted beyond a certain angle. "They primarily would have been concerned about keeping this young woman calm ... to sit extremely still," he told ABC Radio today. Mr Ramm said trembler switches were typically attached to car bombs, used by the likes of the Provisional IRA and other terrorist groups. He said experts responding to the drama would have had a range of technology at their disposal, including airport-style swabs that could detect explosives. But response teams would not have wanted to take any risks with Ms Pulver's life, nor their own. "I think if you're confronted by this device that looks feasible, and might be viable, the fact someone's saying to you I'm 99 per cent sure it's not an explosive device, you've still got a 1 per cent risk and you don't want to take that." Manhunt is on Police are now hunting the person or persons responsible for the incident, after precise instructions were left at the Pulver family home. Mr Ramm said the most important piece of evidence police had was the device itself. "There'll be a really detailed forensic examination of this device to see if there's any DNA on it, to see if it might match DNA held in any databases," he said. If no match was found, any harvested DNA would be held in the hope of matching it to a future suspect. Mr Ramm said police would also carefully look at the woman's movements, including CCTV footage, to see if she was followed, and any abnormal contact with the family. Mr Ramm now advises the United Nations, national governments and police forces on security. Comment is being sought from the NSW Police bomb squad.