[FreePaul]

"They're not something you could buy off the shelf."

So where do you get them? Did they steal them or buy them where they shouldn't be shopping?

[UCANSEE2]

http://www.nationalinfrared.com/

http://www.flirthermography.com/cameras/all_cameras.asp

[UCANSEE2]

How to turn your Digital Camera into an Infrared Camera.

http://geektechnique.org/index.php?id=254

[353FMG]

“So where do you get them?”

I’ll see if they are available at the next gun show.

[cmdjing]

Actually they are something you can buy off the shelf.

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&safe=off&q=FLIR+infrared+camera&um=1&ie=UTF-8

They are not military products, but rather diagnostic tools but they still can’t be taken out of the country because they are covered under ITAR

Note the disclaimer.

FLIR PRODUCTS CAN NOT BE SOLD OUTSIDE THE US AND ITS TERRITORIES AND CAN NOT SHIP INTERNATIONALLY THROUGH A FREIGHT FORWARDER TO OVERSEAS APO OR FPO OR CANADA.

Most likely corporate espionage, take a few to reverse engineer, and begin marketing them for sale at lower prices. They can be made for a lot less than 5000 dollars.