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Beware of drug mules and pigeons at airports

Saturday November 18 2017
drugs

Vigilance is the name of the game; don’t be caught on the wrong foot knowingly or unknowingly abetting drug smuggling: The consequences can be disastrous, ranging from life imprisonment to the death penalty. FOTOSEARCH

By MICHAEL OTIENO

Judging by the television interviews that accompany drug busts, one would think that airport police at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi have impeccable ability and systems to sniff out “pigeons” or “mules” as the narcotics world refers their human carriers.

The recent arrests of cabin crew and other airport staff in Nairobi over possible involvement in drug trafficking by the anti-narcotics police unit is evidence of a common phenomenon behind the scenes.

JKIA, East Africa’s largest airport hub, has been listed in various reports as a major transit point for illicit drugs and narcotics, a citing that could affect current efforts to start direct flights to the US.

Narcotics find their way into East Africa by air and sea, mainly from Asia and South America. The drugs are redistributed to other African states — mainly to West Africa — but the key destinations are Western Europe and the US.

Aerodromes are run by a combined effort of airport security, Customs officials, airlines and groundhandlers, all following universally accepted guidelines from the World Customs Organisation, International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Information sharing among the different agencies, organisations and security organs at airports makes it easier to monitor travel, particularly on flagged routes.

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But in a supposedly controlled and secure environment like an airport, it is not expected that airline staff and other ground service operators will be the perpetrators of drug trafficking. The occurrences point to a porous and corrupt system exploited by innovative traffickers who keep finding newer ways of moving their illegal contraband using air transport.

These weaknesses among border control authorities should ring alarm bells as the sponsors of these crimes will continue to find ways to keep the routes alive.

Why the shift from using passengers to airline and airport crew?

At many airports in the region, being in official airline uniform is a guarantee of a safe passage through security.

Over the years, airline crew have provided a reliable courier service for legal and illegal items concealed in baggage.

Passengers should not carry an extra piece of baggage on behalf of airline crew under the assumption that they are above board.

This caution extends to relatives, friends and colleagues at work.

Airport staff during check-in at progressive airports around the world expressly ask passengers if all the luggage they have belongs to them and whether they packed the bags themselves.

Under no circumstances should you agree to carry bags or items that you did not pack or that do not belong to you when travelling.

The industry has in the past recorded cases of luggage swaps at airports – incidents that have landed unsuspecting passengers in trouble with authorities.

In such cases, drug traffickers working with baggage handlers at airports remove tags from a passenger’s bag and transfer them to a similar looking bag loaded with narcotics.

For the scheme to succeed, accomplices at the destination airport have to intercept the contraband bag on arrival before they reach the baggage carrousel.

It is advisable to have a unique marking or feature on your checked in suitcase and not just pick up any luggage bearing a close resemblance to yours.

Airline crew and baggage handlers are not the only accomplices in these complex but well-thought out smuggling schemes. 

Cleaners and other ground staff have been reported for planting packages on specific seats with full knowledge of the accomplice who will occupy the seat.

The smugglers target flights with few passengers or those in transit, and drop their package during the cleaning and fuel stop.

The temptation to change seats or occupy a seat that was not originally assigned to you could bring you into contact with a prohibited substance.

Remember, vigilance is the name of the game; don’t be caught on the wrong foot knowingly or unknowingly abetting drug smuggling: The consequences can be disastrous, ranging from life imprisonment to the death penalty.

Michael Otieno is an aviation consultant based in Nairobi. Twitter: @mosafariz; Email: [email protected]

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