Israeli Phone Tracking System Fails in Mexico, Sparks $2 Million Lawsuit

The Mexican Ministry of Justice returned a mobile phone tracking system purchased from Israeli company Septier by local intermediary Comercializadora Antsua due to severe hardware and software failures. The deal was valued at approximately $1 million (18 million Mexican pesos). Antsua has initiated legal proceedings and filed a lawsuit in Israel against Septier, seeking around 2 million shekels in compensation for lost business and financial damages.

According to reports from the Mexican Attorney General, the Guardian Septier system experienced frequent disconnections, poor signal reception, and battery life that was only half of the manufacturer's claims. Field tests conducted in police trucks revealed the system failed to locate targets even at short distances of tens of meters, lost targets in antenna-dense environments, and required technicians to repeatedly reboot the equipment. Antsua stated that communications with Septier representatives indicated the system's malfunctions posed real safety risks to agents operating the devices in the field.

After the initial system was delivered in April 2019, Septier provided a replacement in May 2019, which also proved unusable following multiple field test failures. Septier's lawyer, Benny Baratz, who partially owns and manages the company through his brother Yaron Baratz, responded that the company has received the lawsuit, will review it, and respond in court at the appropriate time.