Many of the thermal surveillance cameras installed along the Kuwait-Iraq border have not been functioning since the day they were installed, says an investigation report by Ministry of Interior to the Public Prosecution.
A number of these thermal surveillance devices that are supposed to ‘see in the dark’ have been ‘idle’ since they were installed in 2014, says the report. In addition, some of the cameras did not have any extensions to the network and were apparently just sitting there blindly looking at the border, without anyone noticing or reporting it to the authorities..
Despite there being a clause in the sales contract which clearly states that the company selling the equipment would install, maintain, and repair the cameras as required, nobody had seen it fit to notify the company or alert higher-ups.
It is estimated that this negligence on the part of border patrol has caused losses to the state treasury in excess of a KD1 million. A team from the public prosecutor’s office recently visited the border spent over 18 hours there inspecting the condition of the cameras and reviewing previous documents.
The thermal cameras are designed to detect minute details about movement at the border, particularly infiltrators and smugglers in all weather conditions. The inspection team was surprised to learn that the cameras have been idle for five years and the relevant department in the Ministry of Interior had done nothing to get them repaired.
The investigation of documents revealed that there had been a correspondence between the border security department and the finance department of the on this issue, but surprisingly both departments did not pursue the matter or take the initiative to have the faulty cameras replaced or repaired.
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