Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jul 2002
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2002
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Dan McDougall

ROYAL MAIL USED TO DELIVER CLASS A DRUGS

DRUGS cartels are using the Royal Mail as one of their main trafficking 
routes for smuggling class A substances including cocaine and heroin into 
Scotland from cities such as London and Liverpool.

The Scotsman has learned that Customs and Excise and the Scottish Drug 
Enforcement Agency are becoming increasingly concerned by the amount of 
category A drugs being sent in large packages through the country's postal 
network. The alarming abuse of the postal system came to light during the 
minutes of evidence in the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee 
investigation into Customs and Excise operations in Scotland.

According to the Customs report to the committee, undercover Customs 
officers have detected parcels being sent through the post containing pure 
cocaine weighing up to a kilo, with a street value of UKP30,000.

During a meeting with MPs, Terry Burne, the director of UK Law Enforcement 
for HM Customs and Excise, confirmed that in terms of drug detection for 
Scotland, most of their seizures had been made by intercepting drug parcels 
from Dover and Mount Pleasant, London, postal depots.

He said: "In the last year, in terms of drug detection for Scotland, of 75 
detections, 49 came from the Dover post depot, Mount Pleasant in London and 
the Coventry hub. There is a lot of class A posted. Perhaps more worryingly 
is the fast parcel stuff, with most parcels weighing up to a kilo."

With most of the drugs on Scotland's streets entering the UK through 
Liverpool, London and south-east ports, drug dealers are turning to the 
postal service to distribute their deadly cargo because sniffer dogs rarely 
operate at major Royal Mail depots.

Given the asylum issue and the increased surveillance on freight goods, 
particularly lorries and the Channel tunnel Eurofreight service, major 
traffickers are also taking less risk with bulk smuggling by road.

A Customs source said the use of the postal service to distribute drugs has 
increased largely because the dealers know it is relatively low risk and 
detection methods at postal depots badly need to be improved.

He said: "The risk of detection is massively increased if you drive drugs 
north of the Border.

"Considering the sheer volume of mail going through the postal system, with 
the absence of police intelligence on their movements, traffickers are able 
to simply post heroin, ecstasy and cocaine to regular and trusted clients 
through the Cartels sending drugs in the post mail, sometimes in very large 
packages. The drug dealers know there is very poor X-ray equipment in the 
depots and no dedicated sniffer dogs to root the drugs out. It has even 
been known for some major players to send 'goods' registered post."

A spokesman for HM Customs and Excise confirmed drug smuggling through the 
post was a major issue. He said: " We do X-ray parcels and use intelligence 
and sniffer dogs but we can confirm there are no sniffer dogs used in 
Scottish depots, they are used only on targeted jobs and this would largely 
be a matter for the police to deal with not Customs and Excise."

Alison Love, a spokeswoman for the Royal Mail, said it was doing everything 
within its legal right to prevent drug smuggling through the mail.

She said: "Our people are trained to spot particular identifying features 
on suspicious packages. The inspection of any packages is the 
responsibility of police and Customs officials."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart