Customs: No double standards on checks, says DG
Published on: Thursday, May 26, 2016
CUSTOMS has denied accusations by some quarters that it practises double standards when conducting inspections on arriving passengers at airports.Its Director Datuk Dr Janathan Kandok said the public must understand that the department's officers conduct inspections based on risk assessment."Some people objected to being inspected and ask why certain people are exempted, such as highly-ranked government officers.
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"We work on risk assessment and based on this, we determine that the risk for a high-ranked government officer to smuggle contraband is very low," he said.On the other hand, the risk of strangers, such as foreigners, to bring in contraband, is high.As for items belonging to royalty or heads of state, Janathan explained that under the law Customs officers need not touch their suitcases.Janathan said there were also objections, especially from Muslims, on the use of canines to detect concealed drugs at airports.
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"I must explain that other than the scanning machines at the front, we also have a canine unit at the back, to sniff out drugs. These dogs have been trained to detect certain types of drugs and, therefore, the possibility of smugglers to successfully traffick drugs through cargo is very low, except if they did not use the conveyors." [Although the dogs are stationed at the back, in some countries like Australia, the dogs sniff the luggage of each and every passenger as they wait their turn to be cleared regardless of the passenger's religious inclination.
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When the dog gets a whiff of contraband, it immediately sits beside the luggage and the person and luggage would be directed to a special room] Janathan added that it is very important for the public to understand the gravity of the situation and the duty of the Customs officers. "Some people said it is unclean to use dogs. However, we have our priority and national security is more important."If something is unclean, it can be washed. But if it involves thousands of lives, then you decide which is more important?"So I implore the public to please give their cooperation to our narcotics unit," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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