The Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority has on Monday 12th September, 2022 launched the use of two baggage scanners in the Arrival Terminal at the Freetown international Airport.
The Airport had solely relied on physical baggage inspection on arrival, as a result, only a small percentage of baggage were inspected and, dependent on decision of the onsite officers, inspection was at times random and inconsistent. This system poses threats and vulnerabilities of air travel for illegal, dangerous, prohibited and restricted items to enter the country.
Before its launch, Customs officers within the Airport baggage section went through an intensive one-week training on functionality of its screening controls, it’s features and assessment. The scanners are astrophysics 100 x DV, windows 10 operating system and will significantly increase the inspection ratio for inbound travellers and their belongings.
The scanners have been positioned after baggage reclaim, with inbound bags placed on the scanning baggage belts and goes through the X-ray scanners before exiting the arrival hall. The scanned images are assessed by Customs officers, If any suspicious items are detected on the image, a tag will be attached to the bag for recheck and to further resolve on the alert cases by physical inspection if necessary.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, the NRA Commissioner General, Dr Samuel Jibao, said the introduction of the scanners will facilitate trade and increase revenue collection by interdicting more taxable goods. He maintained that the Airport as a customs-controlled area should be able to boost security and protection against prohibited and restricted items in order to better serve and guard Sierra Leone’s national borders.
“I am grateful to the leadership of his Excellency the President in transforming our country with smart and innovative technologies, at NRA we believe that these developments continue to reiterate our passion for not only planning but implementing our vision of smart operations and service delivery.
The Commissioner General was also pleased to inform the audience that it will drive operational efficiency while helping Customs to better optimize their human resource allocation.
The General Manager of the Sierra Leone Airports Mr J.D.K Massaquoi, thanked the Commissioner General for the final installation and commissioning of the arrival scanners and said its introduction will optimise passenger experiences and enhance the Airport competitiveness within the subregion.
“*As an airport we were indeed constrained particularly passengers’ reactions to physical search given cultural and health concerns. As it stands the airport is set to benefit in its facilitation procedures ,as low risk passengers are streamlined and their processing is done effectively while the clearance and surveillance of imports is enhanced
The program concluded with the distribution of Certificates to the customs personnel who completed the super user and screening levels of the FNA Arrival Scanner Training.
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