PLASTIC CARD TECHNIQUE USED IN DRUGS CRACKDOWN

A technique used by credit card and insurance companies is being successfully used by the National Drugs Team in the fight against illegal drug smuggling. Profiling - a risk assessment programme where the movement of passengers or freight is monitored for suspicious patterns - helped in the majority of 30 arrests by the NDT in the past year.

Recent successes where profiling was used include the pounds 2.5m cannabis haul at Cork Harbour in July and the discovery in Dublin airport of a pounds 1m cocaine stash, concealed in the soles of three pairs of sandals at the end of August.

Details of how the profiling system operates are kept secret by NDT officials, however they admit the operation is based on theory, backed up by information and intelligence assistance.

Passengers and freight are monitored for their risk factor - such their departure point, their behaviour, or discrepancies in appearance, Brian Smyth of the Customs Enforcement team at Dublin Airport said.

``It's no great secret that we're looking at South America for cocaine, for cannabis - the African continent and in relation to heroin we're obviously looking at source countries such as Thailand,'' said Mr Smyth. ``However it doesn't necessarily follow that everybody or every freight movement answering our profile is necessarily drugs related ... '' According to Head Officer Manager at the NDT, Sean Donnelly, there is nothing remarkable about profiling - which is used also by credit card and insurance companies to check the background potential customers and pinpoint certain risks.

The NDT is in close contact with European counterparts in relation to customs seizures of drugs and the methodology used to target smugglers, with a view to seeing if the techniques would work at ports and airports here.

Officials receive a certain amount of training on how to apply profiling techniques, however the majority of skills come from experience.