U.S. armored vehicles sold to S. America

Dallas (UPI) Mar 7, 2011 -An unnamed Latin American country has contracted to buy explosive-resistant armored vehicles for use in anti-narcotics operations against heavily armed and sophisticated organized drug crime gangs.

The purchasing country wasn't named in the announcement by Safeguard Security Holdings, Inc., whose subsidiary SYSTEMSgroup Global signed the deal for the supply of 24 IED Level 6+ armored vehicles from Safeguard's 21st Century Armor division.

Colombia and Mexico are in the front line of operations to control organized drug crime gangs and stem the flow of hard drugs to North America.

Safeguard Security Holdings, Inc., a provider of corporate, industrial and residential security solutions, said, "For security reasons, we are not able to disclose any further specifics on the transaction." The company would only say that its subsidiary's customer was a Latin American government agency.

Sean Finegan, vice president for Business Development at Safeguard Products and Services Group, stated, "This is our first major order for armored vehicles into Latin America in a deal worth over $3 million.

"Our marketing group has been working on this project for the past several months and, as unrest continues to rise in Latin America due to the extreme drug violence, the need for this level of armored vehicle is warranted." Finegan said.

Safeguard Chief Executive Officer R. Michael Lagow said, "Our work began last year in developing relations with governments in Latin America. It is a target-rich environment for our armored products and security services, providing various types of security measures for our clients there."

He said the armored vehicles sale was "the first of several deals of this type that we will be announcing as we begin to see the results of our marketing efforts unfold throughout the region."

Safeguard is a fully integrated sole-sour! ce secur ity solutions provider offering a suite of physical and electronic services through its subsidiaries.

The company provides corporate, government and residential clients with an array of security services ranging from highly trained armed and unarmed guards, security management staffing and security staff outsourcing, to installation and maintenance of integrated electronic security solutions, background investigations, video monitoring, and specialized consulting services for a range of clients.

Safeguard has its headquarters in Dallas and operates various subsidiaries from the same location. The group includes Acquient Security Consulting, Inc., Premier Background Search, Inc., SGI Protective Services, SEARCHglobal, Inc., Secure Concepts International, Inc., SYSTEMSgroup, Inc., SYSTEMSgroup Protective Services, SYSTEMSgroup Technologies and SYSTEMSgroup Global.