( CNN ) -- The ADE 651 stood for `` Advanced Detection Equipment '' . And it certainly looked the part . Sleek black casing . A swivelling antenna that was said to detect everything from bombs to 100 dollar bills . A card that indicated what the device had found . In video recorded by James McCormick , the man behind the skyrocketing sales of ADE 651 , police in Niger can be seen using the device searching for explosives by a live minefield . Just one problem : It does n't work . British police say the ADE 651 is really the `` Gopher '' a novelty golf-ball finder with the label removed . This device , independent tests show , has no better than a random chance at finding a golf ball , much less a bomb . Maker of fake bomb detector gets 10 years in prison . `` These devices contain absolutely nothing inside . There 's no laws of science or physics that could make them work , '' Detective Inspector Edward Heath told CNN . `` He is a conman . He uses sleight of hand , absurd sales tactics to actually con governments , officials , private individuals out of money to buy this device . '' McCormick spent less than 18 months as an entry level policeman in the Liverpool area before becoming a salesman of radio equipment . With his sales patter and his brief time as a policeman , McCormick was a convincing pitch man . In a training video to potential salesmen in India , McCormick can clearly be heard saying he `` worked with explosives '' during his time with the British police . `` He targeted countries where terrorism and violence was rife , '' Heath said . `` They had such terrible problems with violence and terrorism , they were desperate for any measure to prevent them from happening . The countries that he targeted also did n't have proper testing methods or any scientific laboratories to make sure they worked . They very much took the trust of the person selling it . And James McCormick came across as an honest and reliable businessman . But in fact he was a con man . '' It was the 'Made in the UK ' label on the ADE 651 that tipped off British police . They found that McCormick had the components made separately in Britain , then assembled them himself at his office in an old dairy farm in Somerset , England . Police investigators believe it cost him less than $ 60 to make each device . In at least one case , he sold them for as much as $ 300,000 a piece . He sold the devices to government agencies and private companies around the world . But it was n't just a good sales line that allowed McCormick , over a 10-year period , to become a millionaire from a fraudulent device . An Iraqi general has been jailed for procuring the ADE 651 through `` unauthorized '' channels . British police believe that McCormick paid off officials to buy the ADE 651 in bulk . Iraq 's law enforcement agencies bought 6,000 of the devices to scan for explosives at checkpoints , many of them still in use today , potentially endangering lives . It was a profitable business . His company made between $ 60 million and Â£80 million . He spent it on property , an $ 8 million luxurious historic home in Bath -- previously owned by Hollywood star Nicholas Cage -- with a swimming pool in the basement . He also bought a million dollar yacht and holiday homes in Cyprus and Florida . Police are now trying to seize these assets . `` We will do our utmost to make sure that James McCormick never lives off the proceeds of crime , '' Heath said . `` What we intend to do is make sure his assets are confiscated , so that he can not live a life of luxury off his crime . ''
James McCormick is the man behind the ADE 651 bomb device . But the device is fake and contains ` ` nothing inside , '' says Detective Inspector Heath . ` ` He targeted areas where drugs and crime was rife , '' I said . McCormick made millions and spent his earnings on a luxurious lifestyle .