Anti-Smuggling Campaign at NI Ports Welcomed - Cree
Northern Ireland Policing Board member Leslie Cree MLA has welcomed the recent anti-crime campaign aimed at stopping smuggling through Ports in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The message ‘You never know who’s watching you?’ will be highlighted on posters erected at Port buildings on either side of the Irish Sea and leaflets will be handed out to drivers before they travel on ferries.
“HGV drivers will be alerted to the threat that they may be targeted by organised crime gangs whose objective is to carry drugs and counterfeited goods and fuel through the terminals.”
“In 2006 almost 800,000 commercial vehicles used the Ports of Larne and Belfast. The potential for serious crime based on these statistics could not only have serious detrimental effects to our economy but also to our families and children. Illegal drugs are a real problem in our communities and any help that HGV drivers can offer to help eradicate serious ‘port’ crime is to be welcomed. I would urge those with any information about illegal smuggling to contact their local authorities.”
Those involved in the awareness campaign include the PSNI, Crimestoppers, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, the Road Haulage Association and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.