Classified thermal-imaging and night-vision goodies land on eBay

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This night vision device, missing from a $750 million military program, can be yours on eBay for just over $16,000. Photo: eBay
This night-vision device, missing from a $750 million military program, can be yours on eBay for just over $16,000. Photo: The Night Vision Warehouse/eBay

If you search long enough, you can find anything on eBay and Craigslist. That includes lost, expensive military equipment that helps soldiers find roadside bombs.

The Intercept, an investigative reporting website founded by Glenn Greenwald, obtained a Navy intelligence document detailing thermal-optic-imaging and night-vision devices that wound up on a number of websites for sale, including eBay, Craigslist, texasguntalk.com and sportsfisherman.com.

The piece quotes a 2014 document from the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Multiple Threat Alert Center.

A $750 million program issued more than 32,000 pieces of gear, but
pieces got lost because of poor oversight by the military units that distributed the equipment, The Intercept article reported.

This illustration shows how the night vision scope clips onto a weapon. Photo: eBay
This illustration shows how the night vision scope clips onto a weapon. Photo: The Night Vision WarehouseeBay

“NCIS asks for your help in identifying and recovering these items to keep foreign entities from exploiting the technologies in these devices and using them against the U.S. military, NATO allies, or civilian law enforcement personnel during the course of their duties,” the intelligence document stated.

The Intercept found a December listing on eBay for a Universal Thermal Monocular for $6,000, an item mentioned in the NCIS document.

Currently, eBay lists a CNVD-T Clip-On Night Vision Device Thermal System for $16,599. On eBay, 44 people are watching the item listed. Two of the scopes were available, but one has already sold.

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