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Power without restraint
Page 9
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It's been said with some justification that Her Majesty's Customs & Excise wields tremendous power. Indeed, far more than your average enforcement agency.
But with power comes responsibility, and recent news stories in Commercial Motor beg the question: is Customs matching its far-reaching powers with equal amounts of responsibility?
There have already been a number of horror stories in the newspapers on the plight of returning holiday makers who have been confronted by Customs officers eager to exert their full authority over personal allowances of alcohol and tobacco. The word "draconian" comes to mind.
However, road hauliers seem to be equally subject to scrutiny. In a recent search for drugs, officers drilled holes into a perfectly good reefer trailer. They didn't find any.
We've since been contacted by two other operators who have complained about their treatment over trailer fuel tanks and the aftermath of a raid that took place over six years ago—and has still not led to any charges. Neither case reflects particularly well on Customs, who might wish to ponder on the nature of power... and how it should be exercised.