BORDER SECURITY – AUSTRALIA’S FRONT LINE

7:30pm (PG)

Tonight on BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA’S FRONT LINE there’s a verbal stoush in Customs as an officer tries to uncover the truth. The luck of the Irish may not be enough for one man to cross the border. And a passenger loses his temper in Quarantine.

Australian Customs Officers are trained to keep a sharp eye out for subtle signs that could indicate someone is carrying something they shouldn’t into the country. And in Melbourne, those skills are put into practice when a bag search with an Australian returning from Vietnam quickly escalates into something far more serious. A swab is taken of his briefcase to test if it may have come in contact with drugs and it reveals heroin readings. As the officers press for more information, the passenger’s temper continues to escalate. Is he hiding something?

More than 100,000 people visit Australia each year on working holiday visas. The year long visa allows young visitors to work and to supplement their travel. While most abide by the rules, others, like Irish bricklayer Damien, are known as double dippers as they try to come back a second time. The passenger has lied on his application form but he’s still hopeful that officers will allow him to stay in the country. But are his chances slipping away?

With a number of flights arriving at the same time at Sydney Airport, there’s a backlog of passengers waiting to clear Quarantine. While most patiently wait their turn, one man is decidedly unhappy about having to queue. Matters take a turn for the worse when officers notice something in his bag.

Thousands of packages pass through the International Mail Centre every day and it takes a trained eye to spot something out of the ordinary and a small parcel from the Philippines has just caught an officer’s attention. The package contains three fairly ordinary t-shirts but Officer Kane feels something slightly unusual. One appears bulkier than the others. Is his hunch correct?

Narrated by GRANT BOWLER, BORDER SECURITY- AUSTRALIA’S FRONTLINE takes viewers behind the scenes of our Immigration, Customs and Quarantine departments.