London: Ten thousand wanted criminals have
been arrested at Britain's border as a result of e-Borders, an
advance passenger screening programme introduced in 2005,
official sources here said.
The e-Borders is a system by which air carriers and
operators of vessels submit passenger and crew details
electronically prior to travel from and to the UK.
There are now an average of 52 arrests per week at
ports and airports across Britain for a range of crimes,
immigration and customs offences as a result of the screening
system, the Home Office said.
Nearly 381 million passengers have been processed
through the system since 2005,?which has resulted in over
10,000 arrests for murder and rape, seizures of Class A drugs,
and the refusal of entry to the UK for immigration offenders
and overstayers.
Immigration Minister Damian Green said: "By checking
passenger and crew information before, travel law enforcement
agencies can apprehend those trying to evade justice.
From 2013 the new dedicated Border Policing Command,
part of the National Crime Agency, will further strengthen
security at the border, providing leadership and coordination
based on a single national threat assessment and strategy."
Under the programme, 122 carriers on over 3,000
routes provide passenger data to e-Borders.
The UK's National Border Targeting Centre screens
the passenger and crew data and generates alerts as a result
of intelligence and targeting.
The suspects wanted by the UK Border Agency, police, the
Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Revenue & Customs
are then be apprehended before entering or departing the
country, the Home Office said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, November 02, 2011, 17:11