Concealment device

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Radio hidden in a book. This was commonly done in World War II to hide radios from the German occupiers. Radio hidden in a book.jpg
Radio hidden in a book. This was commonly done in World War II to hide radios from the German occupiers.

Concealment devices or diversion safes are used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. 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. [1]

Contents

Examples in espionage include dead drop spikes for transferring items to other people, and hollowed-out coins or hollowed out teeth for concealing something - such as microfilm or a suicide pill. Examples in smuggling include suitcases with false bottoms for hiding contraband.

During World War II MI9 was responsible for creating many concealment devices for "escape aids" to assist prisoners of war to escape.

Examples

Ammunition

Starting in the First World War and still continuing today, military personnel use ammunition casings to hide small amounts of critical information[ citation needed ] e.g. encryption/recognition codes or navigational grid references etc. The hiding place is very easy to prepare: the bullet is removed from the cartridge 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 that soldiers will have ammunition in their pockets, so little attention is paid, beyond confiscating and discarding it.

Books

Books 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.

Candles

A new type, the hollow candle looks like a large scented candle 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 certain points and an electric current passed through, causing them to open. [ citation needed ]

Car

"Trap" 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 contraband, such as illegal drugs, from searches by authorities. [2]

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.[ citation needed ] In the early 1980s, the first magnetically or hydraulically actuated secret compartments, dubbed "urban traps" by the Drug Enforcement Administration, 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. [2]

The legality of traps is dependent on the jurisdiction in which they are used. [3] 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 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. [2]

Cans and jars

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 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. [4]

Coins

American dollar coin used for concealment Hollow dollar.jpg
American dollar coin used for concealment

A hollow container, fashioned to look like an Eisenhower dollar, 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.

Such hollow coins were created from two ordinary coins, by milling 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 line up the faces while closing italthough 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 "Hollow Nickel Case". U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was issued with a hollow silver dollar containing a tiny, saxitoxin-impregnated needle, [5] to be used to commit suicide in case of capture by enemy forces.

Diversion safe

A device whereby a safe-looking safe is left open but has a hidden compartment (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.

Electrical outlet

A fake electrical outlet, which can be pulled out from the wall and which contains a hidden compartment for storage.

Furniture

Concealment furniture is furniture that has been specially designed to hide guns and other weapons. [6] 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 John Browning Jr., who was a well-known gun designer. [7] 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.

Some concealment furniture pieces are designed for handguns, while others hold shotguns and rifles as well.

Painting

Thin objects such as papers/money can be concealed in or behind the frame of a painting.

Computers and consumer electronics

Computer equipment and consumer electronics 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 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.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun safety</span> Study and practice of safe operation of firearms

Gun safety is the study and practice of using, transporting, storing and disposing of firearms and ammunition, including the training of gun users, the design of weapons, and formal and informal regulation of gun production, distribution, and usage, for the purpose of avoiding unintentional injury, illness, or death. This includes mishaps like accidental discharge, negligent discharge, and firearm malfunctions, as well as secondary risks like hearing loss, lead poisoning from bullets, and pollution from other hazardous materials in propellants and cartridges. There were 47,000 unintentional firearm deaths worldwide in 2013.

Steganography is the practice of representing information within another message or physical object, in such a manner that the presence of the information is not evident to human inspection. In computing/electronic contexts, a computer file, message, image, or video is concealed within another file, message, image, or video. The word steganography comes from Greek steganographia, which combines the words steganós, meaning "covered or concealed", and -graphia meaning "writing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secrecy</span> Practice of hiding information to certain individual or group for personal or interpersonal reason

Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.

In computer security, a covert channel is a type of attack that creates a capability to transfer information objects between processes that are not supposed to be allowed to communicate by the computer security policy. The term, originated in 1973 by Butler Lampson, is defined as channels "not intended for information transfer at all, such as the service program's effect on system load," to distinguish it from legitimate channels that are subjected to access controls by COMPUSEC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booby trap</span> Device or setup intended to kill, harm, or surprise a human or animal

A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may be set to act upon trespassers that enter restricted areas, and it can be triggered when the victim performs an action. It can also be triggered by vehicles driving along a road, as in the case of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead drop</span> Method of espionage tradecraft

A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items or information between two individuals using a secret location. By avoiding direct meetings, individuals can maintain operational security. This method stands in contrast to the live drop, so-called because two persons meet to exchange items or information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safe</span> Secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects

A safe is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and door may be cast from metal or formed out of plastic through blow molding. Bank teller safes typically are secured to the counter, have a slit opening for dropping valuables into the safe without opening it, and a time-delay combination lock to foil thieves. One significant distinction between types of safes is whether the safe is secured to a wall or structure or if it can be moved around.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chest (furniture)</span> Type of furniture

A chest is a form of furniture typically of a rectangular structure with four walls and a removable or hinged lid, used for storage, usually of personal items. The interior space may be subdivided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tradecraft</span> Espionage techniques

Tradecraft, within the intelligence community, refers to the techniques, methods, and technologies used in modern espionage (spying) and generally as part of the activity of intelligence assessment. This includes general topics or techniques, or the specific techniques of a nation or organization.

This is a glossary of conjuring terms used by magicians.

Secret room or secret rooms may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concealing objects in a book</span>

There are many real and fictitious occurrences of concealing objects in a book. Items can be concealed in books in a number of ways. Small items such as a photograph or a note can be hidden in between the pages of the book. Thicker items can be hidden by removing the interior portion of some or all of the pages, creating a book safe or hollowed-out book. Book safes are easy for their owners to recognise, but they do not stand out to a thief or other intruder.

<i>Home Alone</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Home Alone is the title of several tie-in video games based on the film of the same name written by John Hughes. Versions were released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Master System, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, Amiga, and MS-DOS platforms. The games were released between 1991 and 1992, each with different gameplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun safe</span> Safe for storing firearms

A gun safe is a safe designed for storing one or more firearms and/or ammunitions. Gun safes are primarily used to prevent access by unauthorized or unqualified persons, for burglary protection and, in more capable safes, to protect the contents from damage by flood, fire or other natural disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locker</span> Storage compartment

A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as locker rooms, workplaces, schools, transport hubs and the like. They vary in size, purpose, construction, and security.

Criminal possession of a weapon is the unlawful possession of a weapon by an individual. It may also be an additional crime if a violent offense was committed with a deadly weapon or firearm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidden compartment</span> An area of a building or object whose existence or access is not immediately obvious

A hidden compartment or secret compartment is a compartment whose existence or access is not obvious at first glance, and can be used as a hiding place for objects or sometimes even for people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballpoint pen knife</span> Multi-tool pocket knife with a concealed blade

A ballpoint pen knife is a multi-tool pocket knife consisting of a blade concealed inside an ordinary-looking ballpoint pen. The blade, typically 50 to 125 millimetres long, is hidden when not in use. They first appeared as custom-made pens from various custom knife makers, and were later mass-produced by other companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural property storage</span>

The cultural property storage typically falls to the responsibility of cultural heritage institutions, or individuals. The proper storage of these objects can help to ensure a longer lifespan for the object with minimal damage or degradation. With so many different types of artifacts, materials, and combinations of materials, keepers of these artifacts often have considerable knowledge of the best practices in storing these objects to preserve their original state.

References

  1. 101 Secret Hiding Places by George Shepherd, CDI Publications Inc., ASIN: B00RPMS96S
  2. 1 2 3 Koerner, Brendan I. (19 March 2013). "See No Evil: The Case of Alfred Anaya". WIRED magazine . Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  3. Ross, John (16 February 2014). "The 'Crime' of Having a Hidden Compartment in Your Car". Reason . Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. "Diversion Safes". Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved 2008-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. Unauthorized Storage of Toxic Agents. Church Committee Reports. Vol. 1. The Assassination Archives and Research Center (AARC). 1975–1976. p. 7.
  6. "Hidden Gun Storage Ideas: Different Ideas That You Should Consider - Hidden Gun Storage". 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  7. "John Moses Browning | Biography, Facts, & Gun Designs | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-03-04.