Crack Down on Smuggling

It’s estimated that 720 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) are shipped internationally every year. Imagine if all of these containers were positioned end to end, it would be the same as reaching to the moon and back five times! However only 2% of shipping containers are estimated as inspected.

The sheer scale of this movement of cargo allows the expansion of developing countries, economies of scale and legitimate businesses. But it also increases the amount of organised crime to transport illicit goods.

The consequences for the vessel if drugs are found on board include delays, arrests and fines. In this article we will focus on the different ways drugs are smuggled through container ships with some suggestions on how to prevent drugs being smuggled on your vessel.

The Scale of the Problem

According to the United Nations Container Control Program (CCP), over 45 tons of cocaine was seized in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017. 32 tons was destined for European countries, making this the most widely used route for drug trafficking.

Cocaine and cannabis are two of the most seized drugs in Europe. Cannabis is grown in Europe whereas cocaine needs to be smuggled in to meet high demands. In Europe, it was estimated that 90 tons of cocaine is smuggled in every year.

We can see above that there has been a rise in the quantity of cocaine seizures in recent years and this is supported by industry feedback.

Smuggling Methods

Drug smuggling on board ships and in containers allows for high quantities to be moved at any one time– some of the methods used are listed below with the Rip on – Rip off being the most recent increasing development. Criminal gangs shift transit routes and storage points to take advantage of ineffective border controls, and areas where instability and poor governance cause weaker law enforcement.

Rip on – Rip off drug smuggling:

Legitimate containerised shipments are exploited to smuggle illegal drugs between countries. In many cases a container is identified in South America which is destined for Europe. Neither the shipper nor the consignee may be aware that their shipment is being contaminated to smuggle cargo.

In many cases the drugs are not well hidden and simply placed on top of cargo inside of the container door by a corrupt employee. The drugs are usually loaded in the dock area so the “rip on” team must be able to get the drugs into the terminal and locate the container in an accessible location. In some cases a duplicated container seal is placed on top of the bags containing the drugs for use at a later stage.

When the drugs reach a trans-shipment port or destination port the other corrupt co-workers then locate the container, break the container seal, enter the container and remove the drugs. Their challenge is to locate the container in a very large terminal. This again may need assistance from a corrupt port employee or company worker.

Some may then either repair the seal or use a forged duplicate container seal with correct seal number which is becoming more commonplace with the increase in 3D printers.

Rip on – Rip off preventative measures:

• Increased screening of employees and staff involved with terminal operations
• Hard hitting campaigns to warn of the penalties – posters and videos
• Try to prevent sales of gate access
• Terminal co-operation with local authorities and customs police
• Development of port control units (PCUs) comprising of analysts and search teams, for example customs police. They will be trained and equipped to work together to target high risk containers with minimum disruption to legitimate trade
• Co-operation with World Customs Organization (WCO) for training techniques to assist with identifying suspect containers
• High definition and fully working CCTV coverage in terminal with increased surveillance in certain ports of containers
• Information exchange – using secure communications applications such as ContainerComm developed by WCO to provide alert notices of possible high risk container shipments
• Increase use of sniffer dogs and scanning equipment
• Use of improved containers sealing techniques to prevent duplication
• Ensure holes in fences are repaired in terminals to maintain security and prevent unauthorised access
• Identify best practices across terminals globally and share this information to assist others

Reefer containers:

Smuggling of drugs inside reefer containers may be carried out with the complicity of the legal owner of the cargo. Crew on board of the vessels will have no knowledge of this and it may be that the shipper or the transport company are involved in the movement of illicit goods.

A high proportion is smuggled in fruit reefer containers which need to be moved through terminals quickly to prevent damage to cargo. Reefer containers containing bananas have been known to be found with concealed drugs.

Reefer containers – preventative measures:

• Increased spot checks of containers at shipper’s premises
• Random use of sniffer dogs and scanning equipment at shipper’s premises
• Education of shippers to make them aware of the penalties and consequences
• Records kept of unscrupulous shippers

Drug smuggling in compartments:

The machinery end of a refrigerated container may lend itself to crew and stevedores smuggling drugs with ease. An example of this may be an evaporator fan space. The bolts are easily removed and this allows for insertion of packages near to the evaporator fan motors. There are also many areas where cables, electronic controllers and sensors would allow for small packages to be hidden.

There are also many areas on board a vessel where drugs can be hidden, including machinery and compartments. Sea chests and underwater compartments, rudder spaces or other areas out of sight are used to stow drugs. Pods are welded to the hull of the vessel or drugs secured to the sea chest by shackles.

Seafarers may smuggle drugs for personal consumption or they may be tempted by financial rewards by criminals to smuggle from one country to another. Bags are sometimes carried onto vessels by stevedores with drugs and there have been recent cases where drugs have been stowed inside shoe heels.

There have also been cases where vessels have been boarded underway and drugs have been planted into containers.

Stowaways have been known to smuggle drugs on board vessels with them.

Drug smuggling in compartments – preventative measures:

• Strict ship security with areas such as accommodation and deck stores locked in port
• Security guard attendance in certain ports of concern with bag searches carried out and checking of shoes and PPE
• Thorough searches of passageways, toilets and corridors to be carried out
• Extra focus by crew on workboats or diving boats approaching the vessel in certain suspect ports
• Increased look out from bridge when departing certain ports to look out for criminals trying to board vessels during departure
• Prevention of stowaways by using the normal search techniques
• Underwater inspections in certain ports
• Sea chests to be welded shut during dry docking of vessel
• Hard hitting campaigns to educate crew of the dangers of drug smuggling and potential prison sentences
• Random drug and alcohol testing

Credit – UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME & WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION

For more information contact our loss prevention team.

Author: Mark Smith