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purpose are video players such as VHS, CD, DVD and Blu-ray players, computer accessories such as DVD-ROM drives and hard disk drives, battery packs or even a laptop computer itself. More often than not, the majority of the components will be removed to allow more space to conceal an item, but that will render the device inoperable and may arouse suspicion, and it may be of more benefit to preserve the operation of the device at the sacrifice of space. Additionally, the electronic device itself may be subject to theft, thereby defeating the purpose of such a concealment device. In other cases, items may be stored in parts of the machine without having to render it unusable - free space in the form of caddies that would normally be occupied by secondary and tertiary hard drives or disk drives can be large enough to store small items such as money and other valuables.
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193:, started to appear – often in door panels, dashboards, seats and roofs. By the early 1990s, however, police had learned to detect such traps by looking for suspicious buttons and switches. More recent traps have no visible controls, are electronically controlled and may require complicated procedures for access. For example, one trap found in the airbag compartment of a U.S. car in 2012 would only open if a driver was in the seat, all doors were closed (to prevent the trap from opening during a roadside police search), the defroster was turned on and a magnetic card was swiped over a sensor hidden in an air-conditioning vent.
226:, is still used today to hide and send messages or film without being detected. Because it resembles ordinary pocket change, it is virtually undetectable as a concealment device. If a hollow coin is suspected, it sometimes can be easily confirmed by weighing against a normal coin on a simple balance. However, more sophisticated hollow coins have had their weight adjusted to match an unaltered coin by including a ring of a dense metal such as lead inside the coin. Typically coins that have no gold or silver content are used so as to further avoid suspicion.
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The legality of traps is dependent on the jurisdiction in which they are used. In 2012, Alfred Anaya, famous among rich clients in
California for his skill in installing sophisticated traps, was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison under U.S. federal law as a co-conspirator in a drug-trafficking
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but is mostly hollow. The bottom comes off and rolled papers or small objects can be placed and hidden inside. Some of the most clever of these contraptions looked like large, ordinary black candles with a felt base concealing the opening. To open them, two metal needles are poked through the felt at
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out one face and the interior of both coins (to create a cavity), and the edges of one (so it could slide into the other). The half coin with intact edges would also have a pin-prick size hole drilled through its face, so the device could be opened by inserting a pin. A scratch may be added to help
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Also a new form of concealment device, mock cans of various household chemicals or food and drinks can be purchased. A wide variety of commonly used personal care, household products and food containers with removable tops and bottoms are available. Valuables can be discreetly stored inside these
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and the propellant powder poured away. A small piece of paper with writing on it can be stored inside. Given that ammunition can be found everywhere in a combat zone, it is very easy to hide or discard such items because they blend in easily. Similarly, if a soldier is captured, the enemy expects
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can easily be used for concealing goods and information. Usually the only tool required is a screwdriver, the device can be opened up, have the majority of the electronic and mechanical components removed and replaced with the goods to be concealed. Some of the more common devices used for this
266:(e.g., in the door) where small valuable articles can be hidden. As an alternative variant, a safe may be "stocked" with some lesser valuables, with the expectation that it will be burgled, but that the real safe or hiding place for the important valuables will be missed.
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Concealment furniture is furniture that has been specially designed to hide guns and other weapons. The furniture can be made of different materials, but the most popular ones are wood, plastic, and metal. The first concealment furniture was invented in 1939 by
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operation. The conviction relied on testimony that Anaya had seen one of his clients stash some $ 800,000 in cash in a trap. The prosecution successfully argued that Anaya must have deduced from this that the trap was to be used for drug trafficking.
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are possibly the most common concealment devices in usage. They are easily made and can contain quite large objects. They are also very difficult for outsiders to spot but easy to recognize for those that are looking for a specific book on a shelf.
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Until the 1980s, drugs trafficked in cars in the U.S. tended to be hidden in obvious places such as wheel wells or spare tires. In the early 1980s, the first magnetically or hydraulically actuated secret compartments, dubbed "urban traps" by the
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Jr., who was a well-known gun designer. He invented a gun cabinet that could be used as a desk or armoire. It was made with an upper section that could be easily removed to access the hidden compartment for guns and ammunition.
53:. They are made from an ordinary household object such as a book, a soda can, a candle, a can, or something as small as a coin. The idea is that such an inconspicuous object would not be expected to contain anything of worth.
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lookalike containers and kept in their seemingly rightful places. Each of these diversion safes are indistinguishable from the genuine product, and can thus avoid detection, and they may even be weighted to feel full.
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casings to hide small amounts of critical information e.g. encryption/recognition codes or navigational grid references etc. The hiding place is very easy to prepare: the bullet is removed from the
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line up the faces while closing it—although it is very difficult to detect a slight misalignment by casual inspection. A device of this nature was famously discovered by a paper boy in the "
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is a colloquial term for a secret compartment in an automobile. It can be intended to hide legal items, such as handguns or valuables, from thieves. But it can also be used to hide
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Radio hidden in a book. This was commonly done in World War II to hide radios from the German occupiers.
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Reports. Vol. 1. The
Assassination Archives and Research Center (AARC). 1975–1976. p. 7.
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171:"Trap (car)" redirects here. For a modified vehicle designed to trap car thieves, see
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101 Secret Hiding Places by George
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A device whereby a safe-looking safe is left open but has a
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A new type, the hollow candle looks like a large scented
398:"The 'Crime' of Having a Hidden Compartment in Your Car"
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368:Koerner, Brendan I. (19 March 2013).
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852:Interpersonal (HUMINT) intelligence
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244:Francis Gary Powers
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601:Double agent
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480:. 2021-07-12
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606:Field agent
335:Rudolf Abel
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1434:Containers
1418:Categories
1269:earthquake
1133:False flag
971:Collection
889:Sexpionage
869:COINTELPRO
862:safe house
842:False flag
779:Operations
753:techniques
749:Tradecraft
508:2022-03-04
484:2022-03-04
429:2008-06-15
407:15 October
341:References
183:contraband
117:ammunition
107:Ammunition
82:contraband
1260:Materials
1114:Defection
1109:Dead drop
1082:black bag
1047:Espionage
813:black bag
697:Dead drop
626:Spymaster
550:Espionage
278:Furniture
248:saxitoxin
121:cartridge
74:suitcases
70:smuggling
62:dead drop
58:espionage
1429:Security
1320:Analysis
1118:Turncoat
1065:handling
879:SHAMROCK
732:microdot
635:Analysis
438:cite web
381:23 March
324:See also
305:painting
295:Painting
173:bait car
102:Examples
72:include
60:include
51:security
1424:Secrecy
1267: (
1245:Nuclear
1215:TEMPEST
874:MINARET
818:wetwork
231:milling
146:Candles
87:During
66:suicide
47:secrecy
1104:Cutout
1055:Agents
909:Global
835:MASINT
830:SIGINT
682:Cutout
566:Assets
561:Agents
402:Reason
242:pilot
179:"Trap"
152:candle
1279:Other
1250:Radar
1094:Cover
1072:Asset
1060:field
594:Agent
589:Cover
303:of a
301:frame
210:Coins
139:Books
128:Books
76:with
914:Mass
884:FVEY
611:Mole
444:link
409:2016
383:2013
751:and
240:U-2
238:".
159:Car
92:MI9
49:or
41:or
1420::
1116:/
501:.
462:.
440:}}
436:{{
400:.
372:.
358:^
307:.
84:.
1271:)
955:e
948:t
941:v
542:e
535:t
528:v
511:.
487:.
446:)
432:.
411:.
385:.
175:.
20:)
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