Customs alert European airports over rare trafficking method
Officials here found a large consignment of cocaine hidden inside an overhead lighting unit on a plane undergoing maintenance at Shannon Airport last Monday.
The 2.2kgs of cocaine, with a street value of €158,000, was discovered by its drugs dog, Shadow, during a routine check.
The Boeing 767 had completed a scheduled flight from the Caribbean to Amsterdam before leaving for Shannon for maintenance.
“From an Irish perspective these seizures are few and far between. We had a similar seizure last year,” said a Customs source.
Last December, 1.1kgs of cocaine, worth €70,000, was found in a concealed area in an overhead locker on a scheduled flight, which was undergoing maintenance at Shannon.
The source said that from what he knew there were not many seizures of this type in continental Europe.
“We will be in contact with other airports and alerting them to this particular modus operandi. They are generally infrequent. We haven’t come across that many on the European side.”
Customs suspect the drugs were bound for Amsterdam, rather than Ireland. It appears that the plane had left Schipol Airport an hour earlier than it was supposed to for Shannon.
“There is some information it left a little bit earlier and that the people concerned may not have had an opportunity to collect it,” said the source.
Customs suspect this method of trafficking would have to involve people with access to planes in the short time periods before takeoff and after landing.
“It would suggest probably someone familiar with aircraft, some insider group involved in maintenance,” said the Customs source.
This could include cleaners and other personnel who are on board in the short time-period before air crews are on board.
The haul was hidden in an overhead light compartment at the rear of the plane, where most maintenance work is done.
“We’re aware that those people that have access to high secure areas in airports occasionally succumb to pressure of different sorts and get involved. That forms part of our threat assessment and risk analysis.”
Planes coming in for maintenance, with flights originating from the Caribbean or South America, would be categorised as “relatively high risk” and are inspected, he said.
