'Major security flaws' in the air cargo industry revealed » Communities » 24dash.com

Major security flaws in the air cargo industry have been revealed by an investigation, it was reported.

Cargo on passenger flights is being sent without checks or X-rays in oversights that could potentially threaten the lives of passengers, BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight said yesterday.

The security gaps emerged following a drug smuggling case at Kingston Crown Court in south-west London.

The BBC said it began an investigation when the hearing revealed that the "known shipper" system used by air courier and cargo companies had been broken by drug smugglers and used to import large amounts of cocaine into the UK from America.

During the case, a former employee of Federal Express admitted selling the confidential account numbers of reputable firms at Fedex's depot in Vauxhall, south London, the BBC said.

This reportedly allowed a student and his accomplices abroad to smuggle in drugs using the security clearance and accounts of innocent companies unaware that their accounts were being abused.

The student was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of one count of conspiracy to import drugs and another of conspiracy to supply drugs.

The former employee of Fedex and two other men and a woman were acquitted of all charges.

The BBC reported yesterday that Brian Fenn, head of UK security for Fedex, admitted in evidence during the case that the known shipper system could also potentially be used to smuggle a bomb on to a plane undetected.

The BBC said companies or individuals were vetted before being allowed to use the known shipper system, and any parcels or cargo they sent for shipping were assumed to be safe and legal and not X-rayed or inspected unless they were considered suspicious.

Some of the cargo was subject to random testing in the UK, but virtually none was in the US.

The BBC said its investigation revealed that the web-based system for tracking parcels could be used by terrorists to target particular flights.

The investigation follows the introduction of rigorous security measures that were implemented in Britain following an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.

In August airports across Britain were thrown into chaos by the new security measures applied because of a specific threat concerning hand luggage.

Captain Gary Boettcher, the president of the US Coalition Of Airline Pilots Associations, which represents 22,000 passenger and cargo pilots, described the known shipper system as "probably the weakest part of the cargo security today".

He told the BBC: "Anywhere down the line packages can be intercepted at these organisations. Even reliable respectable organisations, you really don't know who is in the warehouse, who is tampering with packages, who is putting the original parcels together.

"Anywhere along the way that package could be intercepted. A package that goes from New York to Britain could have a bomb on it that is barometrically detonated so that when the plane descends down to British airspace the bomb goes off.

"Nobody along the way would know the package had been tampered with or traded out. You don't know what's in the box."

In a statement to the BBC, Fedex said that security had been a top priority for the company even before September 11 2001 attacks.

The statement added: "The company has worked co-operatively and effectively with law enforcement and regulatory agencies around the world for a number of years to continuously strengthen our security programme.

"Not only does Fedex comply with all country-specific aviation security and anti-terrorist regulations in both the UK and the US, but our security processes and procedures meet and often exceed regulatory requirements as well.

"The Fedex security systems consist of multiple layers of interlocking procedures and processes and contain a number of redundancies that comprise an excellent security system. We do not, however, discuss specific measures for obvious reasons."

Copyright Press Association 2006