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Rich Mexicans, terrified of soaring kidnapping rates, are having tiny radio transmitters planted under their skin so they can be quickly tracked and rescued.
Hundreds of people, including a growing number of middle-class Mexicans, are buying the tiny chip designed by Xega, a Mexican security firm.
Kidnapping jumped almost 40 per cent between 2004 and 2007 in Mexico, which has surpassed conflict zones like Iraq and Colombia to register the highest kidnapping rates in the world, according to a recent study.
This week the administration of President Felipe Calderon pledged to develop an anti-kidnapping strategy within six months, after a meeting with the country’s top judges, congressional leaders, governors and mayors.
The recent kidnapping and murder of Fernando Marti, 14, the son of a well-known businessman, sparked widespread outrage, After allegations of police involvement in Mr Marti’s kidnapping, his father called on politicians to act to curb increasing crime.
“If you think this task is impossible, resign,” Alejandro Marti told the meeting, adding that they would be contributing to corruption if they maintained their posts and failed to act. “We have to recover confidence in our institutions, in our state, in our country.”
Xega injects the crystal-encased chip, the size and shape of a grain of rice, into clients’ bodies with a syringe. A transmitter in the chip then sends radio signals to a larger device carried by the client with a global positioning system inside.
A satellite can then pinpoint the location of a person tied up in a safe house or stuffed in the trunk of a car.
Most people get the chips injected into their arms between the skin and muscle where they cannot be seen. Customers who fear they are being kidnapped press a panic button on an external device to alert Xega, which then calls the police.
