Wednesday's seizure of 96.6 kilogrammes of marijuana, valued at $7.2 million, from a 40-foot shipping container at the Port of Port-of-Spain once again raises questions about the effectiveness of security systems at T&T's ports of entry.While customs and police officials must be commended for their vigilance in this particular case, the fact is that they acted on information and set up surveillance, and that is why they were able to intercept the 22 packages of compressed marijuana in five duffel bags hidden among cargo barrels which came in from New York via Jamaica.
This latest bust is very similar to one in September 2011, when $30 million worth of compressed marijuana was found in a refrigerated container at the Point Lisas port hidden among frozen chicken parts. In that case too, the container came from the United States on board a cargo ship that had stopped off in Jamaica.
The concern is that while the drugs were intercepted on these two occasions, there may be many other instances where illicit shipments pass undetected through T&T's container terminals. What, then, are the levels of security–human and electronic–currently deployed at ports across the country?Around the world, cargo containers are a major area of concern in terms of security and vulnerability. The process of securing, tracking, and inspecting them is difficult and involves considerable manpower with accompanying financial costs. To further complicate matters, ports are getting busier, ships are getting larger, and the mix of cargo being transported is more diverse.This is well known to those behind organised crime, who see numerous opportunities in the growing volume of containerised trade for smuggling their illicit drugs. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports that freight containers are increasingly being used by drug smugglers to conceal marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other shipments of illegal drugs. The labour-intensive process of inspecting containers must be bolstered by high-tech solutions that can detect things that may elude human hands and eyes.
The Port of Port-of-Spain already has the use of three mobile scanners, donated to this country late last year by the United States Customs and Border Protection Office, which should make it easier to see exactly with is inside containers passing through that facility.Why, then, was it necessary to rely on a tip-off to intercept this shipment?In addition, there were supposed to be significant upgrades to port security infrastructure when T&T was preparing to host the Summit of the Americas, followed by a Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference, just a few years ago.The right systems, including sensors and scanners of all types, had they already been properly integrated into daily security operations, should have been a major deterrent to the type of drug smuggling detected on Wednesday.That incident should serve as a wake-up call to officials of the Port Authority to urgently review the extent and effectiveness of security systems and operations at all maritime ports. The loopholes must be closed and vulnerable areas immediately reinforced. Interception of illegal drugs and dangerous cargo should never be by luck and chance.