Pubdate: Wed, 05 Sep 2001
Source: Korea Herald (South Korea)
Copyright:  2001 Korea Herald
Contact:  http://www.koreaherald.co.kr
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/909

DRUG SURVEILLANCE TOUGHENING AT INCHEON AIRPORT

Surveillance on drug smuggling will be toughened at Incheon International 
Airport, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said yesterday.

Yun Jin-sik, director of the KCS, said in a press conference that his 
agency will conduct searches on all passengers on one flight a day, which 
will be randomly chosen out of the average 130 flights at the airport.

The cash reward for Koreans and foreigners who report smuggling will also 
be raised to 100 million won from 20 million won, he said.

KCS officials said the number of drug smuggling cases uncovered at the 
airport this year has increased by 703 percent from last year.

The volume of drugs smuggled into Korea also increased by 1,031 percent, 
they said.

"The types of drugs as well as the methods of smuggling have diversified," 
Yun said.

The KCS, in conjunction with Incheon Airport Customs, will resume searches 
on incoming travelers, which was halted several months ago in line with an 
effort to simplify entrance procedures.

"We will select one flight each day to conduct a full-scale investigation, 
which will be assisted by X-rays and radar detectors," he said.

Over 95 percent of drugs smuggled into Korea come from China and Thailand, 
according to a report previously released by the KCS.

Yun added that the random search will hopefully scare away more smugglers 
entering Korea because they would not know which flight would be subject to 
the full search.

The first such investigation began yesterday on Korean Air flight KE 832 
that arrived at 3 p.m. from Shenyang, China.

The KCS will also increase the number of Korean customs agencies overseas 
and strengthen cooperation with related authorities in and outside the 
country, Yun said.

It will also launch an in-house narcotic agency and expand the number of 
personnel at Incheon Airport Customs, he said.

The KCS's intensified surveillance plan also included giving more strategic 
training to narcotic-sniffing dogs at a new training center opening Sept. 
17 near the airport.
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