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Immigration and customs unite to secure border

Dogs sniffing for drugs in hand luggage while passengers have their passports checked by immigration officers is just one of the visible changes to border security being brought in at Gatwick.

Travellers suspected of carrying illegal substances are also being asked by Customs staff to step into the ’Sentinel’ - a hi-tech machine which can detect small quantities of drugs in the air around them.

Ahead of the completed merger of the Border and Immigration Agency and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs taking place later this year, Gatwick already has a single checkpoint to protect Britain from unwanted people and illegal goods.

Speaking on a visit to the airport this morning, Immigration Minister Liam Byrne explained why a single border force is needed. He said:

"The Single Border Force is the public face of the biggest shake-up of Britain’s border security for 40 years.

"Our controls are much more visible. With officers in uniform and bold signage, taxpayers can now see the extra security they are paying for, like fingerprint visas, which prevent people lying about their identity to get to the UK.

"Smuggling people and goods into Britain is big business and we have to stop the criminal gangs behind it. That’s why we are merging immigration control and customs and creating the UK Border Agency later this year.

"In the meantime, customs and immigration officers are sharing more intelligence about threats to the country and are increasingly making use of each others’ powers to protect the border."

Behind the scenes, the Government is creating a triple ring of steel to control illegal immigration and crime.

Overseas:

visas are no longer just a stamp in a passport. People seeking to travel to the UK now need to provide a fingerprint so they can’t lie about their identity to travel;
British immigration officers are stationed at the major European ports, like Calais, Paris and Brussels, to stop unwanted people before they reach our border;
the number of Airline Liaison Officers working out of foreign airports to help travel operators identify forged passports has been increased;
over the next few years, ticket purchase information will be made available in advance to the UK Border Agency, to stop would-be illegal immigrants, terrorists and criminals ever setting foot on a plane;
UKvisas staff, based in British Embassies abroad, will also become part of the UK Border Agency; and
Customs officers are providing operational expertise and scanning equipment to the Jamaican and Ghanaian Governments to tackle cocaine smuggling.
At the border:

immigration control and customs are beginning to share responsibilities, with customs officers asking questions about immigration and immigration officers looking out for contraband; and
immigration officers are being given stronger police-style powers to make arrests and prosecute offenders more often.
In the UK:

ID cards will be introduced for foreign nationals in 2008, meaning people who stay in the UK longer than they should won’t be able to access benefits, like the health service;
the Australian-style Points Based System, being brought in early this year, will mean Britain will get the skills the economy needs and can shut the door on those it doesn’t;
stiffer penalties - up to £10,000 per illegal worker - will punish employers who don’t carry out the right ID checks; and
foreign nationals who break the law are being deported - over 4,000 prisoners were sent home in 2007.