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| Airport sniffer dogs find 'cheese and sausages' but no Class A drugs | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| The use of sniffer dogs at Manchester Airport has been criticised after dogs there failed to discover any Class A drugs in a seven-month period. | |
| But one dog, trained to detect illegal animal products, often found "small amounts of cheese or sausages" carried by holidaymakers, a report said. | |
| The review, by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, assessed border checks at the airport. | |
| The Home Office, which oversees border checks, said improvements must be made. | |
| Some recommendations had already been implemented, it added. | |
| The report examined how "efficiently and effectively" Border Force - which is managed by the Home Office - operated at Manchester Airport. | The report examined how "efficiently and effectively" Border Force - which is managed by the Home Office - operated at Manchester Airport. |
| 'Minimal risk' | |
| The airport, the UK's third largest, has six detector dogs and new kennels, which cost £1.25m. | The airport, the UK's third largest, has six detector dogs and new kennels, which cost £1.25m. |
| However, inspectors said that although heroin and cocaine were assessed as "very high priority" for the search team, no Class A drugs had been found by the dogs between November 2014 and June 2015. | However, inspectors said that although heroin and cocaine were assessed as "very high priority" for the search team, no Class A drugs had been found by the dogs between November 2014 and June 2015. |
| One dog, which had been trained to sniff out smuggled animal products, had detected many items accurately - but the report said most were "small amounts of cheese or sausages, wrongly brought back by returning British holidaymakers and posing minimal risk to UK public health". | |
| Inspectors said it would be of "more strategic value" to target flights where the dog might find bush-meat - which could pose a considerable threat to public health. | Inspectors said it would be of "more strategic value" to target flights where the dog might find bush-meat - which could pose a considerable threat to public health. |
| "A senior manager agreed that there was a lack of innovation in the use of the dogs, and told us that a new management structure was being put into place to take a fresh look at their deployment," the report said. | |
| Over the period, the airport dogs helped in the seizure of more than 46,000 cigarettes, 60kg of tobacco, 181kg of illegal meat and £28,000 cash. | |
| A Home Office spokesman said inspectors recognised staff at the airport were conducting "all required checks at passport control". | A Home Office spokesman said inspectors recognised staff at the airport were conducting "all required checks at passport control". |
| "However, we acknowledge that further improvements need to be made. We welcome the report's findings and accept all the recommendations - many of which, including a new recruitment and training programme, are already being implemented," the spokesman added. | "However, we acknowledge that further improvements need to be made. We welcome the report's findings and accept all the recommendations - many of which, including a new recruitment and training programme, are already being implemented," the spokesman added. |
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