This new X-ray technology will help Mississippi officers find hidden drugs, contraband

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics now has a $52,000 piece of equipment to help combat drug trafficking throughout the state and the Southeast.

At a Friday press conference in Biloxi, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety announced the addition of the VIKEN handheld X-ray imager that will be used by law enforcement to scan cars and buildings to detect concealed narcotics, cash, illegal weapons, contraband, explosives and other things hidden or concealed in compartments.

A task force in Jackson will be trained on the X-ray technology and will be able to use it anywhere in the state.

“Drug traffickers are finding better ways to hide their drugs, money and weapons,” Commissioner of Public Safety Sean Tindell said Friday. “This device is portable and can be used quickly without having to rip apart a car or drywall. It’s with the help of technology like this that law enforcement can take drugs and weapons out off the state.”

So far this year, the DEA’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program and MBN have made over 460 drug-related arrests, seized $2.3 million in currency and has taken possession of 74 illegal weapons. Interstate 10 is known as a vein of drug activity though the Southeast, where millions worth of drugs, weapons and other contraband are seized every year.

The VIKEN isn’t a tool that would normally be pulled out at a routine traffic stop along the interstate, officials said, and in most cases the X-ray will be used when as part of a search warrant or an investigation. But, if there if probable cause that drugs or narcotics are In a vehicle and are inaccessible to law enforcement, that agency could request it.

Eric Fulton, who is a captain with HIDTA Metro Jackson Deployment Team run by MBN, said the VIKEN will be a big asset to help law enforcement catch contraband they might miss during initial investigations.

“I’ve been in narcotics since 1994 and have visited tons and tons of locations,” Fulton said. “You many times later find out things that you missed. Sometimes you just find things by luck. With something like this, it will be a big help during those investigations to find the things we could normally easily miss.”

The VIKEN, worth over $50,000, was funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy grant program.

There are two other pieces of equipment similar to the VIKEN in north Mississippi and the Harrison County’s Sheriff’s Office, but the VIKEN shown at Friday’s press conference will be able to be used by any agency in the state with a trained MBN agent.

This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 3:07 PM.