Smugglers hide illegal items in hard-to-reach places, such as gas tanks, car seats, dashboards, and car flooring. They choose places where direct inspection is not possible and dismantling these parts is impossible without damaging them. It spurred Campbell/Harris Security Equipment Company (CSECO) to develop contraband detection tools, like the Buster density meter, that scan the surface to record changes in density, which could indicate the presence of hidden items.
CSECO’s founder and the inventor of the Buster, Patrick J. Campbell, had years of previous experience in developing and designing tools utilizing radioactive technology. He invented the soil gauge, which was designed to measure the mass and density of the soil, to determine if it was safe to build railroad tracks and roads upon based on these measurements.
In 1984, Campbell employed the same technology to the Buster density meter. He worked with the would-be end users of the product — the Customs and Border Patrol agents – who contributed helpful and significant inputs to ensure that the Buster would work as it was made: to detect hidden narcotics, illegal drugs, cash, weapons, and explosives in vehicles, quickly and accurately, without causing damage to their parts.
The Buster uses a low-intensity gamma radiation emitter and scintillation detector to scan vehicles passing the national borders and around the country. It can also be used to scan furniture, walls, container vans, cargo trucks, and any other places suspected of carrying hidden contraband. With the Buster, inspecting an entire average-size vehicle can be done within five minutes or an average-size room within 10 minutes.
Unlike rival contraband detecting tools that use millimeter wave, radio wave, ultra-violet wave, or microwave, the Buster can cope well with wood, metal, stone, concrete, or reinforced plastic. One of the best things about the Buster is that it allows the user to scan these items without dismantling the parts and damaging them. The Buster uses both visual and audible readouts to alert users to the presence of hidden contraband. It can zero in on the specific location of hidden drugs, narcotics, cash, jewelry, weapons, and explosives. The Buster can even detect people hiding in vehicles as they try to illegally cross the border. This is how effective and efficient the Buster is.
In addition to its main feature, the Buster also has RAD-Aware, a radiation detection technology that allows first responders to establish safe perimeters in the event of a dirty-bomb detonation or other radioactive releases.
The Buster is absolutely safe to use for human health and the environment. The current version, the Buster K910G, has no lead components and the radioactive source is now 25% smaller compared to rival density meters, making the Buster the safest density meter on the market! The Buster also has the USNRC license, which means that, among other things, users can safely dispose of the Buster anywhere after removing the radiation label.
Although new users can be confident in using the Buster, CSECO also provides training on the use of the Buster or other CSECO products. See this link for further details.
Since the Buster was first released, it has sold tens of thousands of units, both in the United States and abroad. It has seized billions of dollars worth of illegal drugs, cash, and other smuggled items and led to numerous arrests of the smugglers.
After 35 years, the Buster is still the most widely used, trusted, and recommended density meter used for law enforcement and customs and border patrol agents. With its sophisticated technology, sturdy design, portability, enhanced safety features, and reliability, the Buster density meter remains the “gold standard” in contraband detection.