Number of drug smugglers staggering

The number of people smuggling drugs into South Africa is "staggering", an Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) manager said today.The company’s head of security, Jason Tshabalala, told Parliament’s portfolio committee on transport that many smugglers were able to pass through European airports on their way to South Africa.

"The number is staggering," he said during the presentation on the state of readiness of airports for the 2010 World Cup. "The number of people carrying drugs into South Africa is increasing tremendously." He said that drug smuggling was "a global problem" not confined to South Africa.

Airports around the world were experiencing the same problem. "Many drug smugglers are able to pass through European airports en route to South Africa," he said. "The security in not foolproof. At the end of the day it is a global problem and we have to deal with it." Tshabalala said Acsa was using the best technology available to spot for drugs. There was a human element in the screening process that could lead to errors and smugglers slipping through the system. "In South Africa we have put extensive measures in place. But there will always be an element of human error."

It was not possible, he said, to use sniffer dogs to screen each bag. "We are processing 20,000 pieces of luggage a day. If we use dogs as well, that will slow down the whole process."

Source: The Times