"If a government doesn't prioritise a country's national security, then one has to wonder what are their priorities?''On Tuesday, a 40-year-old Dutchman was charged over an alleged attempt to smuggle 1kg of crystal methylamphetamine into Perth in five plastic bags labelled as ``air filters''. A further search of his baggage uncovered a small quantity of ecstasy tablets and a powder believed to be cocaine. A 51-year-old man from Perth was charged at a nearby hotel after allegedly attempting to take possession of the drugs. Both men face life jail sentences. David Williamson, a Customs enforcement supervisor at Perth international airport, said the fallout from 9/11 and the Bali bombings with security upgrades had seen a change in drug cartel operations.
Hundreds of remote airstrips have opened a gateway for the smuggling of illicit drugs and other contraband into WA.Lax security at smaller airports and minimal checks at state road borders have prompted concern that drug runners are shipping their wares through less secure means. The discovery of $77 million of methylamphetamine and ecstasy aboard a plane that landed at Jandakot airport last month has raised concerns about the apparent ease in which the drugs are entering the state, away from the scrutiny of major airports.It has also sparked questions about how many other syndicates are using small remote airports to transport their drugs cross-country. While Customs mans international borders, including Australia's ports and all international airports, including Broome and Port Hedland, it does not police airstrips and country airports. Pilots of light aircraft are not required to log flight plans if they are not flying in controlled airspace.
Federal shadow attorney-general and Opposition spokesman for border protection Christopher Pyne said remote airstrips and country airports were a threat that had to be taken seriously. "Small airports will be a target for organised crime and Labor has to meet the threat,'' Mr Pyne said. "The No.1 priority of any government is a country's national security -- and that includes the war on drugs.''
Jandakot airport management this week admitted there was little to stop cartels from using hundreds of remote WA airstrips and smaller airports to transport drug shipments. "Aircraft can fly around the state, not only at Jandakot, but anywhere _ any strip around Perth _ and not submit a flight plan,'' said Darryl Evans, operations manager at Jandakot airport. "That means there's no record of who is travelling where,'' Mr Evans said. ``You can fly anywhere you want, basically, as long as you're not in controlled air space. "You'd probably never know if this sort of activity was going on. It's only through vigilance and somebody noticing this sort of stuff that those sorts of movements are picked up.'' Under the regulations set by WA's Department of Planning and Infrastructure, Jandakot airport, among other small airports, must only provide airside security, including fencing and electronic swipecard gate access. There are no checks on luggage or passengers. This lack of monitoring was highlighted last month when WA police seized a huge methylamphetamine and ecstasy haul worth $77 million after searching a plane which flew from New South Wales to Jandakot airport. Acting on intelligence, detectives searched the twin-engine aircraft and found a bag allegedly containing 22.5kg of methylamphetamine -- the biggest seizure of the drug in WA -- and 8.85kg of ecstasy (approximately 35,000 tablets) in a storage compartment on the Piper Aztec. Two people have been charged and the case is now before the courts. Customs WA regional director Paul O'Connor said while Customs officers detected a range of contraband, including significant drug seizures coming into Australia from offshore, intelligence showed drug runners were also crossing state borders. "Consistently, we see intelligence that the majority of the drugs in the Perth market come over from the eastern states,'' Mr O'Connor said. "The eastern states continue to be an entry point to distribute it over here. "They are either driven over, flown over or posted over. That's a consistent trend. "But co-ordination between agencies to intercept this is certainly much better than it has been.'' Customs officers say there has been a move away from concealment in bags to placement inside people's bodies, such as swallowing drugs. But "drug mules'' on international flights, particularly cabin crew, who are familiar with airport procedures, are still being favoured by syndicates.
"Increases in airport security have had an impact on how people bring drugs into Australia,'' Mr Williamson said."There's been a move away from concealment in luggage to internal concealment, or body packing. "Ingesting drugs has led to the weight of drugs falling and it's now a shift to higher-priced narcotics such as heroin and cocaine. "Drugs can be concealed in anything. We can't discount anything. You could find the base of a hard-sided bag is made from them. "There is no atypical courier of narcotics. So while there are a lot of beliefs about Customs having profiling, that's not always the case.'' Small drug detections have been uncovered in mint lolly canisters where the offenders have filled the container with similar white pills and put a few authentic mints on the top. Nick Main, from Customs waterfront operations in Fremantle, said wharves were not exempt from drug finds, but most tended to come through the bigger eastern states ports. "We have found, looking at commercial ships, that most drugs tend to come through more from the cargo,'' Mr Main said. "There are examples, even just recently, of people literally carrying off big bags of drugs and just walking them down the gangway and driving them out through the gates of the wharf. "It is happening and usually they are concealed somewhere on the vessel and then they wait for an opportunity to get them off. "It's always a double-edged sword. If you're not finding it does that mean you're not finding it or it's not happening? "But we believe the presence we have out there is strong enough and a good enough deterrent that if people are going to try to bring it in, they will try to bring it in other ways than just literally walking it down the gangway. "To them, that would be very, very high risk.''
WA Police Organised Crime Chief Supt Paul Coombes declined to speak to The Sunday Times to discuss whether the Jandakot airport drug seizure had heightened their awareness of smaller, remote airports being used by drug couriers. He also refused to discuss if there had been a strengthening of state police around these smaller airports. Mr Pyne said revelations that showed the Federal Government was about to cut $24 million from the budget of the Australian Federal Police was alarming. "I'm very concerned that at a time when there are reports of Australia being targeted by these organised drug rings ... the new Labor Government is targeting the AFP for cuts,'' Mr Pyne said.
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