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| Airport sniffer dogs find 'cheese and sausages' but no Class A drugs | Airport sniffer dogs find 'cheese and sausages' but no Class A drugs |
| (35 minutes 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. | 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. | 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 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. | The Home Office, which oversees border checks, said improvements must be made. |
| Some recommendations had already been implemented, it added. | 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. | |
| As a result, the report concluded that "Class A drugs detections were not at the level that might be expected", and said Border Force should review "how particular flights were risk assessed" and where staff and dogs were deployed. | |
| The amount of goods seized by dog units represented a "low return on investment", the report added. | |
| 'Lack of innovation' | |
| 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". | 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". |
| Travellers arriving in the UK from EU countries can bring fresh food including meat and dairy products, but there are strict rules about food brought from non-EU countries - including a ban on all meat, dairy and potatoes. | Travellers arriving in the UK from EU countries can bring fresh food including meat and dairy products, but there are strict rules about food brought from non-EU countries - including a ban on all meat, dairy and potatoes. |
| 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. | "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 however, the dogs had helped in the seizure of more than 46,000 cigarettes, 60kg of tobacco, 181kg of illegal meat and £28,000 cash, the report said. | |
| Other elements of border checks were also reviewed, with the report finding that: | |
| Elsewhere, it praised Border Force's work in areas including the safeguarding of children, and said the force was "actively involved" in tackling issues such as human trafficking. | |
| 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. |
| A Manchester Airport spokesman said staff "work extremely closely" with Border Force and "support their work to address the issues raised in this report". | |
| What are your experiences of going through customs? Has a dog ever sniffed out your Brie?! Share your stories. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories. | What are your experiences of going through customs? Has a dog ever sniffed out your Brie?! Share your stories. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories. |
| Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
| Or use the form below | Or use the form below |