ACPO response to 10,000 arrests using the E-borders entry system

Association of Chief Police Officers lead for e-Borders John Donlon said:

“ACPO has worked with the UK Border Agency to deliver and operate e-Borders. Police have been able to identify those wanted for offences before they leave or when they return to the UK, bringing offenders to justice and supporting counter terrorist and serious crime investigations.

“e-Borders will develop in the future and operational opportunities will increase. Inevitably as more routes are covered the number of arrests will grow. The police service will continue to play a major role in this work which helps to keep our communities safe.”

The e-Borders system now screens over 90 per cent of flights from outside the EU and up to 55 per cent of all journeys to and from the UK. New capability has recently been added to the system that will enable the capture of advance passenger information from all types of transport. The government is extending the number of routes and carriers covered by the e-Borders system and will re-introduce exit checks by 2015.

Recent successes include:

• a 44-year-old man travelling through Manchester Airport from Switzerland was arrested and charged with sexual grooming after an alert from Swiss authorities that he may be flying in to commit a sexual offence with a boy under 16;
• advance notification of a Spanish drugs courier trying to smuggle 1kg of cocaine into the UK from Brazil led to his arrest and earlier this year he was jailed for five years and six months;
• a British national returning from Addis Ababa with a conviction for drug trafficking generated an alert which led to his interception. He was found in possession of 28.7kg of cannabis and jailed for five years in March this year;
• arrest of a man wanted for a rape committed 14 years ago en route to Cairo;
• a man wanted for a £5.7 million theft arrested on arrival from Dubai;
• a man arrested for a £50 million plus fraud arrested on arrival from Dubai;
• a fraudster arrested at port leaving for a £37,500 holiday which he had booked on fraudulent credit cards; an
• a man on a Scottish ‘most wanted’ list for robbery and assault since 2003 arrested returning from Tel Aviv.

126.7m passengers were processed last year through e-Borders resulting in 2,700 arrests in the last year for murder and rape, seizures of Class A drugs, and the refusal of entry to the UK for immigration offenders and overstayers.

11 murderers

22 rapists

5 sex offenders

316 violent criminals

126 drug offences

374 theft and burglary offences

For more information please contact:

ACPO Press Office
Association of Chief Police Officers
e: press.office@acpo.pnn.police.uk