- 7 weeks ago
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00:10Tonight on Border Security, a passenger admits to using narcotics.
00:15We've just swabbed these bags and they're coming out positive for cocaine.
00:19But officers make a find that he'll struggle to explain.
00:23This man was living a life of crime.
00:25You're going to guess what's changed.
00:27I met the right girl.
00:27But the right girl is now on the wrong side of the border.
00:31I don't really want to let her down.
00:34And the discovery of a mysterious substance.
00:37That's what they're worried about, the yellow stuff.
00:39Puts officers on the highest alert.
00:57A man has arrived off a flight from South America and has come to the attention of Customs and Border
01:05Protection.
01:05The countries that he's been to are very high risk to ask for narcotics.
01:12He's already been to Argentina, Brazil, Chile.
01:16So we just want to make sure that he's not carrying anything on his body or in his bags.
01:21So how long are you staying in Sydney?
01:23I don't know, let's be honest.
01:26Maybe one week.
01:28Do you know anyone in Sydney?
01:30I know one, but he's not here.
01:32So where are you going after this?
01:34I'm going to Tokyo in 27, but I changed my flight.
01:37Is there any reason why you changed your flight schedule?
01:41No, I just decided it's too much to stay two months in Australia.
01:45His travel movements and vague plans are a concern.
01:48Officers decide to take a swab of his belongings to test for traces of narcotics.
01:54I'll run over the inside of his bag back.
02:19At Melbourne's mail facility, quarantine officers have passed a suspicious package on to Customs
02:25and Border Protection.
02:27This is coming out of Tanzania, which is an arm that we don't seem to see much around here.
02:33And the odour, it's quite powerful.
02:34So we're going to take it into our fumigant cabinet and examine it in there.
02:39A fumigant cabinet will vent any toxic or deadly fumes
02:44and protect officers when inspecting unknown material.
02:49We have some form of white crystal substance in here.
02:52It does look similar to methamphetamines in the form of crystals as well.
02:57And this bag here, it's got a yellow powder in it
03:03and it has a very strong odour to it.
03:05So at this stage, I don't know what this is.
03:07But I will be conducting a few tests on it to see what indicators that it has.
03:12The itemiser machine will be used to test for traces of narcotics.
03:17OK, the first thing we're going to test is the white crystals here.
03:29OK, well, that's come up negative.
03:31The negative result hasn't eased the officer's concerns.
03:35What I'll do now is grab a sample and analyse it in our street lab unit here.
03:41And it goes through a library database
03:44and it tries to find exactly what the substance is.
03:48I'm hoping that something comes up here.
04:02At Sydney Immigration, officers are about to interview this man
04:07who has just arrived from New Zealand.
04:09He is travelling with his girlfriend.
04:11His girlfriend is a German citizen
04:13and she has now applied for a working holiday visa
04:16and plans to spend 12 months in Australia
04:18and he would like to stay with her.
04:22Hi Willie, how are you?
04:24Not too good at the moment.
04:26That's OK.
04:27You've indicated on your passenger car
04:29that you do have criminal convictions.
04:32Yes.
04:33This was back in 1998?
04:35Yes.
04:36You were sentenced to imprisonment here for two months?
04:39Yes.
04:40Preaching PD, which is community service.
04:43OK.
04:44I was drinking and driving, I think.
04:47Drink driving?
04:48Yes.
04:48His girlfriend, Julia, has already cleared immigration.
04:52But without Willie, she can't go forward on her working holiday
04:56and she can't go back.
04:58It's a bit hard to go back to New Zealand
05:00because I already absolved my travel and work visa there.
05:04It would be a lot better to just be together in Australia.
05:08I don't really know what I could do.
05:10In the interview room,
05:12Officer Tracy is finding out some troubling facts from Willie's past.
05:16So we have listed here aggravated assault.
05:20Yes.
05:21And you were convicted in sentence?
05:24It includes an imprisonment of six months.
05:26Don't explain to me what happened.
05:28Me and a group of friends that I was with
05:30entered a bottle stall
05:32and we took some alcohol
05:34and tried to leave without paying.
05:37The people that worked there tried to stop us
05:39and I wiped one of them.
05:55We've just swabbed these bags
05:56and they're coming out positive for cocaine.
05:59This passenger has arrived in Sydney
06:02and officers need to know
06:04why they're getting positive readings for cocaine from his bag.
06:08This officer, when he swabbed your bags,
06:10it came out positive for cocaine.
06:12Have you used cocaine in the past
06:14or do you use cocaine?
06:17Yeah, of course, but...
06:18Yes?
06:18Yeah.
06:19Do you have any with you today?
06:20No.
06:21Do you have any on your person?
06:23No.
06:23Are you carrying any?
06:24No.
06:25At all?
06:26No.
06:27Have you swallowed anything?
06:29No.
06:29No?
06:30No.
06:30It's very strange.
06:32The taste of the cocaine in my baggage.
06:37Yep.
06:38His bag is now taken to be x-rayed
06:41and checked for any concealments.
06:48But at the bench,
06:50Officer Martin discovers something
06:52that the passenger should not have.
07:06At Sydney Airport,
07:08a family has arrived from the US
07:10adamant that they have nothing to declare.
07:13What's this, guys?
07:14It's cookies and candies.
07:17OK, so what do you do with that?
07:18Eat it.
07:19OK, so I'm going to ask you again,
07:21do you have anything else to declare to us?
07:23As well as finding the large amount of undeclared sweets,
07:28Officer Jeannette has come across a packet of beef jerky.
07:32Your beef jerky is a meat product,
07:35and meat products are prohibited.
07:37Australia is currently free of diseases such as foot and mouth,
07:41but a contaminated food import could soon change that status.
07:45You also have quite a large amount of other snacking foods also.
07:49Those are sealed foods.
07:51OK, so...
07:52But if you read question six again,
07:56we're not asking you if your food's sealed or what it is.
08:02Right, I get it, I get it, I get it.
08:03Even though she has nearly two kilos of undeclared food,
08:08the passenger is more irritated than repentant.
08:12Things like beef jerky,
08:13and I wasn't even aware that was in there.
08:16So, yes, my first and last trick.
08:28OK, so looking at these convictions,
08:29they do total 12 months.
08:32Yes.
08:32Can you explain to me what was the situation then?
08:36The situation there was just dropping out of school
08:38and hanging around the wrong crowd of people,
08:41and I chose the wrong path.
08:44OK, so then I guess what's changed?
08:49Um, I met the right girl.
08:51His German girlfriend, Julia,
08:54has already been cleared and is free to go,
08:57but she's standing by her man.
09:00Whatever he done in the past,
09:03I don't really care about it
09:04because you can't see anything of that now,
09:06and he's totally different, I would say.
09:10But unfortunately for the couple,
09:12it does matter to immigration.
09:15Did you approach immigration at all
09:17to apply for a visa before travelling to Australia?
09:21I was told it would be very hard
09:23if you've been in prison for 12 months or more,
09:25but I didn't realise that those sentences
09:28where I haven't stepped inside the prison
09:31are still taken account.
09:34Yeah, it is cumulative,
09:36so this is what we are considering at the moment.
09:39I'm going to discuss this with the duty manager,
09:41and then we'll make a decision.
09:56A man's bag tested positive to traces of cocaine,
10:00but an X-ray shows there are no concealments.
10:04Seems fine.
10:06Although the bag is clear,
10:08officers have discovered the passenger
10:10is carrying a credit card that is not in his name.
10:13That's an envelope. It's fake.
10:16OK, so this is a fake credit card?
10:18Yeah, it doesn't work.
10:19It doesn't work?
10:20Yeah.
10:21And it's in someone else's name?
10:22That's my friends.
10:23I just keep it through...
10:25I think it doesn't work.
10:27OK.
10:27I never tried to use it.
10:29OK.
10:30Credit card fraud is a serious concern,
10:32so officers will need to contact
10:35the Australian Federal Police.
10:37He claims he's had this card for the past two years.
10:40The AFP will run a background check
10:42on the passenger and the name on the credit card.
10:45Systems and Border Protection are satisfied
10:48he is not carrying any narcotics across the border.
10:52Even though his bags came up positive for cocaine,
10:54he admitted that he was a user
10:55and we're satisfied with that reason.
10:58The AFP complete their checks.
11:00The credit card is seized
11:02and officers are now satisfied
11:04that he is a legitimate traveller.
11:07OK, thank you for your time, sir.
11:09The main thing is that we're satisfied
11:11that he's walking out with nothing of our concern,
11:14so we've done our job.
11:25At the Melbourne Mail Centre,
11:27a package containing two unknown substances
11:30has arrived from Tanzania
11:32and Officer Rocky will first try and identify
11:36the crystal material.
11:37The street lab analysis has come through
11:41and it's given us a positive result for boric acid.
11:45It is quite hazardous if mixed in
11:47with certain other chemicals as well,
11:48so that's why we've got to take
11:49every safety precaution here.
11:51The presence of boric acid suggests
11:54the yellow powder could be hazardous.
11:57I'm going to test this on our street lab machine.
12:02At this point, the risk is considered far too great
12:06and a decision is made to suspend the test
12:09and evacuate the room.
12:11The emergency services are called to assist.
12:15Yeah, they are aware of it.
12:20The Metropolitan Fire Brigade arrives on the scene
12:24and will help the officers
12:25to take every safety precaution.
12:28They've tested the yellow stuff.
12:31Yep.
12:32That's the unknown material.
12:34OK.
12:35It's in their machine at the moment,
12:36but he hasn't read it yet,
12:38but there's a result on the machine.
12:39OK.
12:40That's what they're worried about, the yellow stuff.
12:42The first priority is to ensure
12:44that nobody has been contaminated
12:46or is affected from contact with the substance.
12:50OK, so come on, so it's slightly unctuous to the touch.
12:53You haven't touched it?
12:54No, no, we had gloves on.
12:56Ingestion, absorption may cause nausea,
12:57vomiting, diarrhea,
12:59and all kinds of fun stuff.
13:01So, OK, you can get pretty nasty.
13:02Mate, I want 51's crew in breathing apparatus
13:06when they come in
13:07and to stand by.
13:09We'll meet at the door.
13:26In Sydney, a couple has been separated
13:29on both sides of the border.
13:31While Julia has gone straight through,
13:34her boyfriend Willie has had to explain
13:37his criminal convictions to immigration.
13:39Hopefully they can see that
13:41I changed my ways quite some time ago
13:43and, um, just fingers crossed, I guess.
13:48But I honestly don't know what I'm going to do
13:50if they say, no, you can't come into the country.
13:53I'll be very disappointed for myself,
13:55but I think more for Julia, my partner.
14:00Officer Tracey is discussing his case
14:02with her supervisor
14:04to decide whether he'll be allowed
14:06to join his girlfriend.
14:08He's claiming that at the time
14:09he was just young,
14:10he dropped out of school,
14:11that he's now grown up,
14:12he's changed his friends,
14:13and he would like to work
14:14and travel and see the world.
14:17The key reason for his change,
14:18he's claiming,
14:19is that he met the right girl.
14:21The other thing is,
14:22I mean, the convictions are a little while ago,
14:24but they're not that long ago.
14:25There are other convictions
14:27since that time.
14:28Willful damage in 2005,
14:30threatens to kill in 2005.
14:32So there still are a number of issues.
14:35It's just that there's been no imprisonment
14:36for the last 10 years.
14:38The decision is made to issue
14:40a notice of intention
14:41to consider cancellation of his visa.
14:44Do you have any reasons
14:46why the visa should not be cancelled?
14:48I just can't explain how much,
14:51yeah, I'm disappointed in my past
14:53and something that
14:56will always follow me around, I guess.
14:59There's a person outside
15:00that I really love
15:01and I don't really want to let her down.
15:15I'm ready to go home right now.
15:17This woman is upset
15:19because quarantine has found
15:20a large amount of undeclared food
15:23in her family's bags.
15:24I think you're a little bit too strict.
15:27You know, the amount of money
15:27that I'm bringing in to spend in here,
15:29I can definitely spend it back home.
15:32Officer Jeanette consults her supervisor.
15:34They've got beef jerky.
15:36They do have banana chips.
15:39I am considering giving them
15:42a fine of $2.20 today.
15:44If you wanted to give them a queen,
15:45I'm happy with your judgement.
15:48Today, by not declaring,
15:50you will be receiving
15:52a fine of $220.
15:54Candy?
15:56We're bringing in candy.
15:57It's not the candy
15:57that we're fining you for.
15:59You get to keep all of that.
16:00Oh, no, that's fine.
16:01And that's not the problem.
16:02The problem is
16:04you didn't declare them to us.
16:06We weren't bringing any cooked food or anything.
16:08Well, I don't want to argue about it.
16:09Let's get it over with.
16:10Absolutely.
16:11You know?
16:11I just need you to understand...
16:13There are better sides of your country
16:14than what I'm seeing right now.
16:15I just need you to understand
16:17why you're being fine.
16:19After finally agreeing
16:20to pay the $220 fine,
16:23the family went on to
16:24hopefully enjoy
16:25their Australian holiday.
16:37The fire brigade
16:39has arrived to assist
16:40officers handling
16:41some potentially dangerous
16:43chemicals
16:44that were sent
16:45through the mail.
16:46We know what the white crystals are,
16:47which is a boric acid.
16:48It's the yellow substance
16:49that we're now concerned about
16:50that we need to find out
16:51exactly what it is.
16:54The yellow substance
16:56had been in the process
16:57of testing
16:58before the room
16:59was evacuated
17:00and the test machine
17:02is retrieved
17:03to check the result.
17:07OK.
17:11And we'll see
17:12if it's actually registered
17:13for any chemical compounds.
17:17No substances were found.
17:19What that means
17:19is that it's actually
17:20not recorded
17:21in our library here.
17:21OK.
17:22So it doesn't mean
17:22it's not dangerous.
17:23It could mean
17:25that it could be
17:26something else
17:26that's not actually
17:27programmed into
17:28this unit itself.
17:29No worries.
17:31So I was hoping
17:31it was something simple
17:32but it's become
17:34quite complicated
17:35at this stage.
17:36The commander
17:37of operations
17:38arrives
17:39and is brought up
17:40to speed
17:40with the situation.
17:42The science officer
17:43has just requested
17:44a radiation test
17:46and an explosives
17:47limit test.
17:49Don't get too close
17:50in it with it.
17:52So I don't want you
17:53anywhere near
17:54the vapour
17:54clear like that.
17:55Nice.
18:07Would you like to be
18:08escorted out, sir?
18:09You try, darling.
18:10So how much fight
18:11will he have in him
18:12with the Australian
18:13Federal Police?
18:14Get the AFP.
18:21At the mail centre,
18:23officers are conducting
18:24a radiation test
18:26on a suspicious
18:27yellow powder
18:28that arrived
18:29with boric acid
18:30from Tanzania.
18:35radiation is ruled out
18:37but there are still
18:38major concerns.
18:40What the science officer
18:41wanted more than anything
18:42was to know
18:43whether it was hazardous
18:44to explosive.
18:46So have we done that yet?
18:47No, not yet.
18:48I'll switch the machine on
18:49and set up.
18:49It takes about 10 minutes
18:50to set up and calibrate.
18:51The fire brigade's
18:53incident controller
18:54wants officers
18:55to wear full chemical
18:57splash suits
18:57before continuing
18:59their tests.
19:00So there you go
19:01with the hazmat IR.
19:01I'll watch from the door
19:02and I wouldn't claim it
19:04just in case
19:04it's touch sensitive.
19:08Are you ready
19:08for the test?
19:09A sample needs
19:10to be carefully spooned
19:12into the hazmat machine
19:13that will use
19:15an infrared light
19:16to test for a range
19:18of hazardous materials.
19:23There's no protein
19:24warnings on the hazmat IR.
19:25No proteins to say
19:26there's any biological
19:28contamination off.
19:29The hazmat machine
19:31has determined
19:31the yellow powder
19:32to be only
19:33a harmless food additive.
19:36Until we identify
19:36what the material is
19:37we treat everything
19:38as being potentially dangerous
19:39and things that come through
19:41could have been explosive
19:42or radioactive.
19:42We've got to rule
19:43those things out
19:43and that's why we go
19:44to the highest level
19:45of protection.
19:46Once we identify
19:46that the major risks
19:47aren't present
19:48we can go down
19:48that level of protection
19:49until we got to
19:50what you saw
19:50in the fume cupboard
19:52there with some
19:53reasonably harmless
19:53products in the end.
19:57I didn't dream
19:58you'd be doing this today.
20:01Every day's different
20:02eh Nicole?
20:03Yeah that's right.
20:04Every day's a new day
20:05over here.
20:22At Sydney Immigration
20:23this passenger
20:25from New Zealand
20:26is about to find out
20:27whether his criminal convictions
20:29will prevent him
20:31from crossing the border
20:32to be with his girlfriend.
20:34It's disappointing
20:35to have a pass like that.
20:37It's a luggage
20:38that you don't really
20:39need in life
20:42and I don't want
20:43to let Julia down.
20:46This is a record
20:47of the decision
20:49of whether to cancel
20:51the visa
20:52and I consider
20:53that there are grounds
20:55for the cancellation
20:55of the visa.
20:56As you are no longer
20:58the hold of a visa
20:59you have been refused
21:00immigration clearance
21:01and will be removed
21:02from Australia
21:03as an unlawful
21:04non-citizen.
21:05So I'm not out
21:06in the country?
21:07No unfortunately
21:08you're not.
21:10So it's not that
21:12you would never
21:13be able to travel
21:14but you will have
21:15to go through
21:15a different process
21:16than New Zealanders
21:18usually would
21:18where they're just
21:19granted automatically
21:20on the border.
21:21Your convictions
21:22will always prohibit
21:23you from being
21:24granted that visa.
21:25Would you like
21:26to speak with
21:26your girlfriend?
21:27Okay I'll organise
21:29that.
21:31I'll get you to
21:32wait in here
21:32I'll get her to
21:33step in here
21:33and talk to you
21:34inside okay?
21:40I'm not allowed
21:41to go back on
21:44flight at six.
21:50I was so scared
21:51that that's going
21:52to happen.
21:55I'm sorry
21:57I tried but
21:58I don't know
21:59what to do
22:00now.
22:01I've got nothing
22:02to go back to.
22:12It is difficult
22:13there's a human
22:14element to everything
22:15that we do
22:15and you need to
22:15take that into
22:16consideration.
22:18so you've got
22:19to try and
22:19balance the
22:20compassion that
22:20you show there
22:21with the rules
22:22and regulations
22:22and the laws
22:24that you also
22:24have to enforce.
22:45next week on border
22:47security
22:48you're refusing to
22:49answer any
22:49questions
22:50is that what
22:50you're saying?
22:51A woman attempts
22:52to bluff her way
22:53across the border
22:57but officers will
22:58find all the
22:59answers they
23:00need.
23:04That's border
23:05security.