Iraqi PM tells police to stop using fake bomb detectors after Isis Baghdad attack

The novelty golf ball finders were sold to Iraq and other nations as hand-held bomb detectors by a British conman

(AFP/Getty Images)

Iraq's prime minister has ordered the country's security forces to stop using fake bomb detectors at checkpoints, after 165 people were killed in an Isis bomb attack in Baghdad.

Haider al-Abadi also ordered an investigation at the interior ministry into "corrupt deals" to buy the fake bomb detectors, known as ADE 651.

The novelty golf ball finders were sold to Iraq and other nations as hand-held bomb detectors by British conman James McCormick.

McCormick was sentenced to 10 years in jail for endangering lives for "obscene profits" in 2013.

The former policeman made $75 million (£48 million) from the Iraqi government alone.

The "golf ball finders" - which did not work - cost around $20 (£13) each and McCormick sold them for $40,000 (£26,000) each to the Iraqi government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi also ordered X-ray systems be installed at entry points into Baghdad and other provinces.

He also demanded upgrades tot he capital's security belt, increased aerial scanning and stepped-up intelligence efforts.

Iraqi and foreign officials have linked the recent increase in Iis attacks —especially large-scale suicide bombings — with the string of battlefield losses the extremist group has faced over the past year.

Iraqi security forces, supported by US-led coalition airstrikes, have retaken the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah.

Additional reporting by agencies