Known drug smugglers are being allowed to walk unchallenged through Leeds-Bradford Airport because of an understaffing crisis in the Customs service, it was claimed today.

The PCS union, which represents 75 per cent of Customs and Excise staff, today launched a campaign to fight job cuts of 1,200 jobs nationally.

And at a press conference in Leeds, the union decided to go public and warned that customs were suffering.

The shortage of officers means that they are regularly unable to swoop on suspects flying in to Leeds Bradford Airport, even when they have been tipped off by colleagues in London.

Keith Spendiff, deputy general secretary of the Customs and Excise Group of the PCS union, said: "The criminal element already knows our weakness. We are only telling them something they already know. We might as well tell the public who we believe are not getting the service they should expect."

And one local Customs source, who would not be named, said: "In West Yorkshire we have the third and fourth largest conurbations in Leeds and Bradford but we have the minimum amount of resources allocated under the national risk model.

"On top of that, we have for the past six months had 50 per cent of those posts vacant.

"The effect is that known targets, targets identified by our crack troops, the National Investigation Service, are being allowed to walk through Leeds-Bradford Airport. These are people who have a high profile for smuggling Class A drugs, like heroin.

"Management will deny this, but we know from speaking to officials on the ground and officers in the NIS that they are alerting our region to targets coming through the airport, and we haven't had the resources to respond. This is happening on a regular basis which is demoralising for our troops."

Leeds-Bradford Airport lost its full-time Customs cover three years ago but when the staff were withdrawn, assurances were made that an intelligence-led approach would ensure that would-be smugglers would be picked up.

That system was now breaking down due to the lack of staff, the source said. He said: "This definitely means more drugs on the streets of West Yorkshire unless existing vacancies are at least filled and there is a commitment not to cut any more."

The Customs source explained that understaffing was affecting a range of departments at the sharp end of HM Customs operations with many jobs not being replaced:

Half the posts in Bradford Local Fraud Unit (dealing with VAT evasion) are unfilled

Half the posts in the Flexible Anti-Smuggling team (dealing with the airport) are unfilled

More than 50 pc of the posts in the Intelligence team unfilled

No-one was available to comment on behalf of management at HM Customs and Excise.

Councillor Tony Cairns, deputy chairman of the Leeds Bradford Airport Board, said: "This is really serious and I have been worried for some time. It's one thing to cut administration but if you cut the sharp end it makes you wonder why you bother at all. You are inviting smugglers to come in through Leeds Bradford Airport."

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