Upon reading comments by o­ne of your readers, Gabriel, in Extraordinary, unverifiable stories

, I have a few things to say myself.

I agree with Gabriel that satellite based monitoring gadgets are out of the ordinary. I strongly believe that we do not posses such technology locally, and that if true, are supplied by foreign parties. As a telecommunications engineer, I can't imagine how a gadget as small as a pen can be modified to uplink signals to the satellite. The transmitting power and antenna needed for such terrestrial communication cannot fit o­n a pen. None of the technologies available to the public today can do that.

However, monitoring, tracing, tracking and recording capability from mobile phones do exist. When a person being monitored uses his mobile phone, the authority is given the permission under court order to install non-of-the-shelf equipment to the digital exchange of the mobile phone company. I agree with Saari's re-count of o­ne of the interrogators boasting that it is "easy".

Voice and data recording are done through the exchange for evidence. However, tracking a mobile phone involves a little more work. Due to the nature of wireless phones being not stationary in a unique location, the mobile system is used to 'track' and identify where the mobile phone is by using systems that do exist in the mobile network. Mobile phones, whether in active call or idle mode, will relay to the system o­n its location. The reason for this is for the system to be o­n standby. When a call comes in, the system will know where to locate the mobile phone. This is also for the system to control the mobile phone's mobility.

Criminals are located and usually caught using triangulation. No matter whether it is used in active call or idle, as long as the phone is powered o­n, it will tell the system its location. With this 'raw' information, the authorities will send a surveillance team, comprising the authorities and the network operator engineers to the site. The teams, usually in twos or threes, will drive around and zoom in to a location using triangulation. Soon, the authority will wait and with positive identification, nab the suspect.