Airport dogs find ‘cheese and sausages’ rather than Class A drugs
Sniffer dogs at Manchester Airport have been detecting ‘cheese and sausages’ rather than Class A drugs, says a report by inspectors.
The report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration said the sniffer dogs had failed to find any Class A drugs in a seven-month period and questioned the return on investment, with £1.25m spent on new kennels and operating the six-dog unit.
And it added that one of the sniffer dogs, which was trained to find animal products, had detected cheese and sausages wrongly brought back by holidaymakers.
The report said: "Heroin and cocaine were assessed as ‘very high’ priority within both air passengers and freight. Yet, according to the data provided by Border Force, the dogs had made no Class A drugs detections in the period November 2014 to June 2015.
"When deployed, the POAO dog made multiple accurate detections, but most were of small amounts of cheese or sausages, wrongly brought back by returning British holidaymakers and posing minimal risk to UK public health."
The report into Border Force operations also found that four out of five suspicious passengers were not interviewed by immigration officers.
Of the 50 sample cases studied at Manchester Airport, only 10 travellers who raised suspicions were questioned by border guards.
It said staff had failed to abide by Home Office guidelines to question a traveller when there was concern over why they were coming to the UK.
A Home Office spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘Security at the border is our priority and the Chief Inspector recognises that staff at Manchester Airport are conducting all required checks at passport control, while at the same time responding efficiently to increased passenger numbers.
"However, we acknowledge that further improvements need to be made."
Diane
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports