As an agency we control the entry of people and goods to the
UK, protecting the public from people or goods which can cause
us harm, as well as protecting tax revenues. The creation of the
UK Border Agency means that we are better able to deploy our
resources, including a wide range of technology used to target
those people who attempt to bring illegal goods and people into
the UK. Technology such as x-ray scanners, carbon dioxide, drug
and radiation detection machines and cameras are used together
with the intelligence and skill of our officers on the frontline.

This joint approach is delivering impressive results. Since the
UK Border Agency was formed in April 2008 as a shadow agency
we have seized 900 million cigarettes and £300 million worth of
illegal drugs at the border. What’s more, in 2008 we stopped over
28,000 attempts to cross the channel illegally and searched over
1 million freight vehicles.

Screening freight
Screening technology has played an important role in helping us
to achieve these results.
In the same way that baggage is scanned at an airport, we use
x-ray systems to identify smuggled illegal goods such as weapons,
tobacco and drugs concealed within the vehicle.

Technologies such as x-ray are Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII)
systems, and can penetrate a container to produce an image of the
contents. It allows us to carry out examinations of freight without
having to unload the goods for manual searches, or intrusive
examinations such as dismantling objects or crates.

Throughout 2009, we will be working with our partners, to
install fixed x-ray systems at Dover and at our juxtaposed controls
in Coquelles, France.

But it’s not just illegal goods that the UK Border Agency
is interested in – we also screen freight vehicles for people......