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P STOWAWAYS
Page 8
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UKBA hammers security message home
A FOCUS on securing trucks to prevent stowaways entering them is vital, says the UK Border Agency (UKBA), which also reveals that 40% of trucks checked boarding the Eurotunnel in France are not well secured. UKBA checks 40% of all freight travelling to the UK via Eurotunnel every day and, of this, approximately 60% is effectively secured.
The message to drivers and operators to concentrate on vehicle security was hammered home when CM visited the agency in France last week.
In 2008, UKBA officers thwarted more than 28,000 attempts to enter the UK illegally via trucks and other vehicles at various crossings in France. Penalties were imposed on drivers and haulage firms in more than 1,700 oases, "Every freight firm should provide drivers with a list of reminders to check the truck after each stop and this would help to speed up checks and help to cover your back in the case of a stowaway discovery," says Simon Gray, senior officer at UKBA.
A driver and company can face a maximum combined fine of £4,000 per stowaway if they cannot prove there was an effective prevention scheme in place.
UKBA says hauliers can join its accreditation scheme, which enables a firm to avoid penalties if it can prove it has a system in place to stop stowaways entering a vehicle: visit http://tinyurl.com/n8gg2f • See CM next week for a guide to UKBA controls at the Eurotunnel freight entrance in France.