Customs starts using body-imaging device to detect inside goods

Finnish Customs has started using its first body-imaging device at Helsinki Airport in early this year in controls of international passenger traffic in cases where travellers are suspected of smuggling, particularly internally concealed narcotics, said Customs in a press release on Tuesday.

The new control device facilitates passenger controls, and saves time for both travellers and Customs.

Finnish Customs has uncovered five cases where travellers have attempted to bring narcotics to Finland inside their bodies after introducing body-imaging device at Helsinki Airport.

“The imaging device facilitates customs enforcement work. Using the device is one of our measures in securing society. The new device is an important tool in our work in uncovering narcotics smuggling,” said Samy Gardemeister, Director of the Enforcement Department of Customs.

Typically, people smuggle hard drugs inside their bodies. The most commonly smuggled narcotic is cocaine, said Customs.

The new control device saves times for customs officers and for travellers who undergo imaging, as imaging can be done at the airport instead of a hospital. The device will also bring about economic benefit in the long term.

“We used to have to transport people away from the airport for imaging. That taxed our resources in terms of other customs controls as, for every individual who had to undergo imaging, two customs officers had to accompany them for several hours at a time. We can now identify smugglers hiding items inside their bodies already at the stage of customs controls, and allocate further control measures only on these persons. This is how we can ensure resources for important customs enforcement work at the airport,” said Mika Pitkäniemi, Head of Airport Customs in Helsinki.

Efficient control equipment also have a pre-emptive effect, as smugglers are now at greater risk of getting caught, Pitkäniemi added.

The Customs imaging device is not meant for medical use, even though it basically operates as an X-ray machine. The device generates X-ray imagery that shows soft tissue, bones and any possible foreign objects. However, the radiation dose that people are subjected to through the device is about a thousand times smaller than that produced by similar medical equipment.

The dose corresponds to radiation experienced by air travellers at normal altitudes during one-hour flights. Actual imaging takes only about ten seconds. Persons who are imaged do not need to remove any items of clothing.

The total acquisition price for the device was about 100 000 euros, of which the EU Customs Control Equipment Instrument (CCEI) funded about 80 percent.