CO 2 test fails to
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spot entrants
II Doubt has been cast over the effectiveness of carbon dioxide stowaway detectors after a haulier was given the all-clear at Calais only to find more than 10 stowaways hIclden in his trailer.
Steeton-based John Bird had been tipped off by another driver that stowaways had climbed into his trailer while he was parked in the Transmark area, a known stowaway hotspot.
However, the CO2 test carried out by French authorities at the port of Calais failed to detect them. Bird says: "I knew there were people in there so I got straight out and opened the trailer. There were at least 10 of them."
A spokesman for the manufacturer of the equipment was surprised by the news: 'This equipment is 100% accurate if used properly." But he adds: "A CO2 reading might not register if a vehicle is checked too quickly; the probe needs to remain in the vehicle for 2-3 minutes for an accurate reading," The news comes as MO Stenaline is planning to extend compulsory CO2 checks to Zeebrugge following the success of the scheme in Calais.
More than 600 immigrants were caught in the first month of its introduction on 6 December, saving the company and hauliers fines of up to £1.29m.
The Home Office reports that the number of "clandestine entrants" detected at Dover decreased from 2,050 in November to 1,350 in December.