Customs officials at Noi Bai International Airport are boosting their inspections of passengers, luggage and cargo from all flights arriving at the airport, especially those from South America, during the 2014 World Cup.

The move aims to fight against those who plan to take advantage of the large volume of passengers through the airport during the football event to slip cocaine into Vietnam.

Vice Head of the customs office there, Nguyen Van Chien, said on June 19 that experienced staff have been sent to the site to heighten the effectiveness of the work. He added all information about passengers and goods on flights touching down the airport from South America must be scrutinised.

Over the recent past, the office has detected and addressed many cases of drug trafficking from South America. Notably, local customs officers seized 3.6 kg of cocaine carried by Philippine passenger Camacho Silo Emmanul on a plane from Sao Paulo, Brazil, which transited via Singapore and arrived at the airport.

Since the beginning of this year, the airport’s customs force has handled 16 smuggling cases.-VNA