REMOTE CONTROL TOYS BANNED IN SRI LANKA

FEARFUL THEY COULD BE USED AS MINI-CAR BOMBS

Taking a remote control car, filling it with high-powered explosives, and then running it into a crowd or under a real vehicle, is an idea that has been used in countless American action movies.

Now, in Sri Lanka at least, there are real fears that remote control trucks, cars, aircraft and fire engines could become the latest weapon of 'terrorists' in the region. All such toys have now been banned.

From the TimesOnline :

(Sri Lanka) Customs officials have been ordered to seize shipments of the toys and confiscate them from tourists bringing them into the country as presents.

NI_MPU('middle');

Amid rising violence, the decision reflects government fears that separatists are becoming ever more creative in their bomb-making skills.

“Even small objects could be packed with one or two kilogrammes of plastic explosives,” R. M. K. Ratnayake, the Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, said.

“Anyone mischievous, not necessarily the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam], could use a remote-controlled device. We just want to prevent it. This is for national security.”

The arrival of international aid after the devastating 2004 tsunami brought with it container loads of foreign-made toys.

The ministry said it has evidence that some were used as bombs.

While most of the fighting is restricted to the northeast of Sri Lanka, Colombo has been rocked by car bombs in recent months and there is concern that the violence could spread as the tourist season looms.

The ban doesn't affect all the remote control toys already on store shelves, or the thousands that arrived in the country via charities. If terrorists hadn't already thought of using these toys as weapons of minor destruction, they certainly will now.