CIA JOHN ORKIN: The Chad Device & The Senegal Timer

“Mebo produced records showing that the 16 units were purchased on behalf of the Libyan Office of Military Security”. . .

This information was obtained directly from Mebo by the Swiss, following an approach made by an agency  Station Officer in Switzerland at my behest. CIA John ORKIN* [Jack Christie]

Here are some comments made by CIA John Orkin during his CP’s. The full text will be available on this blog soon.

CP John Orkin 15/09/1999

I further recall, at that time, that the red and black connectors visible in the photographs of the Senegal timer also rang a bell. What I recall is having seen similar devices on a radio controlled device for a briefcase bomb seized by the Chadian Government in 1984, which was the subject of my report 85SP002 (Chad Report).

As depicted in Figure 46 of 85SP002 the “LED” has been inserted by drilling has out a hole after the component been manufactured.

Based upon inquiries through liaison channels I recall that the Motorola Pageboy devices utilized in the Chad briefcase bomb, and similar devices, was traced to multiple orders placed by MEBO and delivered to that firm by Motorola Europe of Wiesbaden, Germany. The Chad device which is the subject of 85SP002 was returned to representatives of the Government of Chad who later displayed it at the United Nations.

At this same meeting, I pulled out photos of the Senegal timer, gave them to Tom [Thurman] and told him he may want to check out “MEBO”.

CP John Orkin 10/01/2000

My first involvement with the MST-13 timing device occurred when I had sight of cables sent by a team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, who were in Lomé, Togo in 1986. Their communication mentioned recovery of a timing device, which was subsequently, brought back to the United States.

I noted the curved lines at each corner of the main board. Even at this early stage, I was of the view that these were guidelines for cutting the board in order that it could fit within a German rose  housing. I had previously worked in Germany. and had experience of such housings.

I was particularly interested in the speaker clips which were attached to the housing. The clip had been modified to include a red LED warning light. I had seen this modification only once before on a modified Motorolla pageboy receiver which had been recovered in Chad in 1984.

Enquiries with Motorolla in Wiesbaden provided us with information regarding the supply of these later devices to a company called Mebo AG in Zurich. Motorolla provided us with details of the deliveries as specified on page 41 of the report.

On page 14 of the report I have stated that:  “Mebo produced records showing that the 16 units were purchased on behalf of the Libyan Office of Military Security”. . .

This information was obtained directly from Mebo by the Swiss, following an approach made by an agency  Station Officer in Switzerland at my behest. I do not know who approached Mebo or in what circumstance.

As a result of the unusual similarities between the MST-13 timer recovered in Senegal and the Chad pageboy devices, as early as March 1988 I was of the view that the MST-13 timers were also constructed by the firm Mebo AG. Given the known circumstances of the recovery of the Chad devices and the Senegalese timer, I was also of the view that both devices were used by Libya.

Remember that…

A document that we have studied in the past (See The Senegal Timer ) must be kept in mind while reading the CIA Report on the Chad Device.

The cable wired on 14/03/1988 is extremely important to understand the Lockerbie Affair. The full cable is archived on this page. ( See The Senegal Timer: CIA Cable 14/03/1988 )

RE TIMING DEVICE: TIMING DEVICE IS MANUFACTURED TO ACT AS AN ELECTRONIC TIME DELAY FOR THE DETONATION OF EXPLOSIVES. THE DEVICE IS WELL ENGINEERED, SOPHISTICATED, WATER-RESISTANT, AND IS SELF CONTAINED COMPLETE WITH POWER SUPPLY.

PHOTO N° 3: TOP VIEW OF DEVICE SHOWING UNIQUE STEREO WIRE CONNECTOR; SAME CONNECTOR WAS FOUND IN LIBYAN-ATTRIBUTED RADIO CONTROL FIRING DEVICE RECOVERED IN NJAMENA, CHAD SEPTEMBER 1984. ALLOWS FOR QUICK CONNECTION OF DETONATOR WIRES TO TIMER UPON DEPLOYMENT OF DEVICE.

Top view of the Senegal Timer

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