Calais offers trailer checks and tighter port security
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• by Guy Sheppard Calais port officials are offering hauliers a free stowaway detection service as part of a .24m blitz on illegal immigrants heading for the UK.
An in-house security team called SPS is being set up with 40 guards—four times the number currently employed through an outside security company.
"Impenetrable" fences will protect Customs-controlled areas from October; from next month access to the entire port area will be controlled by badges linked to electronic controls. The Calais Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), which administers the port, says the investment was ordered by the French government. But according to one LK driver, the carbon dioxide detector failed to indicate anybody in his trailer even though there were actually two stowaways inside. They were discovered after a seal on the TIR cord was found to be missing and the trailer was physically inspected.
The driver, who is remaining anonymous for fear of being fined, says: "I got the impression that the French were stepping up security, but you can still see people walking around freely in the port."
The CCCI admits the detectors are not totally reliable but says they help reduce the risk. The £4m investment in security equipment also includes vibration detectors.