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RAF police seize massive Taliban heroin haul
10 January 2011
RAF?Police have seized more than 175kg of deadly
heroin from drug smugglers in and around Camp
Bastion.
Personnel from 2 Police Wing and 3 Tactical Police
Wing have processed more than 81,000 people at
Bastion during their busy six-month deployment and
made some alarming finds – including an unexploded
Rocket Propelled Grenade stuck in the side of a lorry.
The primary role undertaken by personnel from 2 Police
Wing and 3 Tactical Police Wing is the control of
access onto the busy airfield, and to carry out Counter
Intelligence and Influence work alongside Afghan
National Security Forces (ANSF).
RAF Police Corporal Calum Steele, 22, from RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, was part of the team who were involved in discovering the largest individual drugs find. Using state-of-the-art technology and ‘good old-fashioned Police intuition’, would-be drugs smugglers were quickly identified.
He said: “We find that a firm and friendly approach usually gets the best results. Most of the Afghan contractors, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and ourselves know each other now so there’s very little friction. But there’s always the underlying high threat posed by the insurgents. We appear to be getting good results with our interpersonal skills and the ability to read body language.”
The Counter Intelligence Field Teams (CIFT) and Influence teams are involved in working with the ANSF to expand the area of security and stability further out from Bastion Airfield, but they also help mentor the ANSF in policing techniques.
Sergeant Paul Bassenger, from MoD St Athan, is in charge of the joint shift of RAF Police and USMC Security personnel. He said: “We’ve processed more than 81,000 people, searched over 36,000 cars and lorries and in that time made over 2,500 drugs finds with a total weight of 175kg.
We found an unexploded Rocket Propelled Grenade
(RPG) stuck in the side of a lorry and when we spoke
to the driver he knew that he had driven through an
insurgent attack, but had been too scared to stop
before reaching Bastion Airfield to search his vehicle.”
Sgt Bassenger and his team have also had to administer
first aid to Afghan nationals who had been shot in
roadside attacks by insurgents and also apprehended
people who posed a significant threat to the public outside
the perimeter of the airfield.
Significant improvements have also been made to the infrastructure leading to a more efficient system of entry for people getting onto the Airfield. Part of that redesign enabled the processing of individuals’ identity cards. This technology, vigilance and ability to read body language has seen many people declined access to Bastion Airfield and also a number of arrests of people who were on the wanted list of either the ANSF or ISAF.
10 January 2011
RAF?Police have seized more than 175kg of deadly
heroin from drug smugglers in and around Camp
Bastion.
Personnel from 2 Police Wing and 3 Tactical Police
Wing have processed more than 81,000 people at
Bastion during their busy six-month deployment and
made some alarming finds – including an unexploded
Rocket Propelled Grenade stuck in the side of a lorry.
The primary role undertaken by personnel from 2 Police
Wing and 3 Tactical Police Wing is the control of
access onto the busy airfield, and to carry out Counter
Intelligence and Influence work alongside Afghan
National Security Forces (ANSF).
RAF Police Corporal Calum Steele, 22, from RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, was part of the team who were involved in discovering the largest individual drugs find. Using state-of-the-art technology and ‘good old-fashioned Police intuition’, would-be drugs smugglers were quickly identified.
He said: “We find that a firm and friendly approach usually gets the best results. Most of the Afghan contractors, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and ourselves know each other now so there’s very little friction. But there’s always the underlying high threat posed by the insurgents. We appear to be getting good results with our interpersonal skills and the ability to read body language.”
The Counter Intelligence Field Teams (CIFT) and Influence teams are involved in working with the ANSF to expand the area of security and stability further out from Bastion Airfield, but they also help mentor the ANSF in policing techniques.
Sergeant Paul Bassenger, from MoD St Athan, is in charge of the joint shift of RAF Police and USMC Security personnel. He said: “We’ve processed more than 81,000 people, searched over 36,000 cars and lorries and in that time made over 2,500 drugs finds with a total weight of 175kg.
We found an unexploded Rocket Propelled Grenade
(RPG) stuck in the side of a lorry and when we spoke
to the driver he knew that he had driven through an
insurgent attack, but had been too scared to stop
before reaching Bastion Airfield to search his vehicle.”
Sgt Bassenger and his team have also had to administer
first aid to Afghan nationals who had been shot in
roadside attacks by insurgents and also apprehended
people who posed a significant threat to the public outside
the perimeter of the airfield.
Significant improvements have also been made to the infrastructure leading to a more efficient system of entry for people getting onto the Airfield. Part of that redesign enabled the processing of individuals’ identity cards. This technology, vigilance and ability to read body language has seen many people declined access to Bastion Airfield and also a number of arrests of people who were on the wanted list of either the ANSF or ISAF.
