Airport security problems
A recent discovery regarding airport security delinquency breaks out when federal officials find out that airline or airport employees are most likely involved in smuggling drugs or illegal immigrants.
Last week on the Miami International Airport, eight workers were accused of being part of being part of a conspiracy that introduced illegally in the United States half ton of cocaine and heroin from Central and South America to the American streets. Anthony Mangione, Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations office in Miami says that it is very easy for them because they know how to exploit the system having worked there, and a person having worked there knows the system’s strengths and knows the weaknesses. Everyone would believe that after the 9/11 terrorist attack corruption on the American airports would have been drastically diminished, but unfortunately it is not so.
In 2008 the airport authorities and federal officials got some information which was saying that drugs were being smuggled in New York City from John F. Kennedy International Airport, and after investigating the authorities arrested two American Airline employees. There is a surveillance video which is showing the whole operation and one can see the airline employees taking advantage of their well knowing of the security system and eluding the security checks. One of the suspects stops on the tarmac of the John F. Kennedy International Airport in a baggage car and immediately another airport employee arrives there and receives a package full of heroin which was worth thousand of dollars. The two employees involved in this case have been convicted.
But corruption at the airports is not just linked to smuggling drugs, it also involves several airports employing illegal immigrants or airport employees being accused of smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States. An elevator mechanic at Los Angeles International Airport for example was accused of helping at least 15 illegal immigrants to enter the united States territory, out of which at least two had criminal records in the country they were coming from. The method of smuggling them in was taking them through a terminal exit to call a cab outside without actually going through customs. The federal customs officials are concerned that the corruption inside the airports might be used one day by the terrorists to smuggle operatives and bombs into the country. Mangione says that it will be very easy for them to identify workers with access badges, and if they are now smuggling drugs they can be very easily convinced to smuggle other things too.
