|
FENLEY: THIS WEEK ON Special
Assignment we meet up with two former heroin addicts… who have
found a new will to live. But first
with world on high alert for more terror attacks we test
security at Johannesburg International Airport.
UPS: - VOICER –
Johannesburg International Airport every year almost 20
million passengers pass through here while almost 9000
vehicles drive in daily. Security is a logistical nightmare.
Since September 11th, airport
security all over the world has become increasingly complex.
Officials need to keep a step ahead of the criminals and ahead
of those targeting the airport for their own political ends.
PRE-TITLE: ACCESS CONTROL
UPS: VOICER
- Johannesburg International is run by an independent body,
the Airport Company South
Africa, or ACSA. Security is an ongoing headache
UPS: BONGANI MASEKO;
DIR: AIRPORT OPERATIONS, ACSA - Airports have changed after
9/11. There has been a sharp focus on security. I think form
the traveling public just an aware that it only takes one
incident such as 9/11 to change the entire aviation industry.
UPS: - VOICER - Despite all the
new security measures, airports are still vulnerable. In the
past year criminals have outsmarted
security at two major airports. Millions of dollars were lost
in a heist at Heathrow in London. At
Schipol in Amsterdam a KLM cargo
plane carrying diamonds was the target.
UPS: BONGANI MASEKO; DIR:
AIRPORT OPERATIONS, ACSA - Recent incidents at Heathrow and also more recently Schipol highlight that airports
because of the nature of business that they in are attractive
to criminals organized criminal syndicates.
UPS: - VOICER - Johannesburg
International has also had its share of incidents. Last year
robbers wielding AK 47s tried to rob a KLM cargo plane of
diamonds. They were thwarted. But in a heist 4 years ago… robbers
got away with diamonds and cash worth millions of dollars.
UPS: - VOICER - Paul O’Sullivan
headed up ACSA’s security division
at the time of the KLM heist. He has vast experience in
security matters…and particularly in aviation security.
UPS: - PAUL O’SULLIVAN - On my
first day at work ten o’clock in the evening I got a phone
call saying there been an armed robbery at Johannesburg
International Airport.
UPS: BONGANI MASEKO;
DIR: AIRPORT OPERATIONS, ACSA – those people were actually
caught. It was revealed that they did have they were working
with people form the inside.
UPS: - PAUL O’SULLIVAN – at
stake was nine and half million US dollars in cash a couple
hundred thousand dollars in diamonds cut and uncut. So it was 9.7 million dollars.
UPS: - VOICER - There have been
other security breaches at Johannesburg International.
* In 2005 a Commair warehouse was robbed.
* In 2004 a
Nationwide warehouse was robbed.
* In the same year
the Spur Steak Ranch was robbed.
Barriers
have been put in place to prevent incidents like these. Theoretically someone on the
outside should never get access to sensitive areas.
UPS: - PAUL O’SULLIVAN – But
generally speaking one should not be able to get into an
Airport with a couple of cars and men armed with AK47’s and
have shoot outs under the wing of aircrafts. Not only could I
see it coming I warned about it in writing.
UPS: BONGANI MASEKO;
DIR: AIRPORT OPERATIONS, ACSA – there were multiple things and
the biggest was there were people who we contracted to do with
to provide for a security service who were involved in
organized criminal.
UPS: - PAUL O’SULLIVAN –
Terrorism like criminal activity is a window of opportunity.
What happens is you got these layers of security in place.
Each layer of security is not 100% there is little gaps in it.
The more layers you have the more secure your airfield is.
What the terrorist needs to know what the criminal needs to
know he needs to know where he can line-up these layers with
the window that goes through. And
quite clearly that is able to happen on a very regular basis
at Johannesburg International Airport. Every
crime that takes place at that airport of significance takes
place outside post office hours and with inside information.
Which tells me there you have there a large barrel of rotten
apples?
UPS: BONGANI MASEKO;
DIR: AIRPORT OPERATIONS, ACSA - The lesson that we learnt from
the first incident where the heist was actually successful
always us to employ measures that were the deterrent that lead
to the attempt in 2004 unsuccessful.
UPS: - VOICER -
South Africa has won the right to host the 2010 Soccer World
Cup. Its airports will be at their busiest ever. ACSA
management knows that an incident like the KLM heist can never be repeated. South
Africa simply cannot afford it - financially or politically.
AD BREAK 1
UPS: - VOICER - Airports put up
physical barriers to secure certain areas. To enter these
areas you need an access card. Every employee carries one at
all times and with it you have
automatic access to many of the secured parts of the airport.
The best security system though is only as reliable as the
human beings that operate it. And
that’s where the problems start.
UPS: - VOICER - Heists or
attempted heists make headline news. But
many other illegal acts take place at Johannesburg
International… with the help of access cards. We managed to
get hold of an access card without much difficulty… at a cost
of R500. It allowed us into secured parts of the airport - for
two entire days in April. This is the
method criminals use to get past the barriers. All it
takes is some money – and help from someone on the inside.
UPS: - PAUL O’SULLIVAN – On a
nightly basis between five and fifteen Pakistanis will find
their ways into South Africa. You know post 9/11 who is to know whether of those
Pakistani if they were Pakistani who is to know if they were
not Al Queda operatives. In fact,
we do know of one incident of Al Queda
operative was picked up.
UPS: - INSP DENNIS ADRIAO;
NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON SAPS - As from January until now end of
May we have arrested one hundred and twenty illegal immigrants
trying to smuggle themselves through the Johannesburg
International Airport into South Africa.
UPS: - VOICER - The access card
we acquired allowed us into many off-limits areas. No one
stopped to question us as we moved directly from the apron to
the international transit lounge and back. With the help of
airport employees, it’s relatively easy for individuals to be
spirited out of the airport and into South Africa at a cost of
about R10 000 a head. The modus operandi is simple. A
foreigner books a flight to one of our
neighbouring countries, via South Africa. With a few
hours to go before the connecting flight, the passenger waits
in the transit lounge. The “contact” at the airport then
arrives – armed with an access card and regulation yellow
jacket for the apron. The foreigner is then ushered through
the back door to freedom. And for
those who wish to commit acts of violence once you’re inside
the options are endless.
UPS: - PAUL O’SULLIVAN – If you
can buy your way in to an airport secure area or Buy your way
out on airport secure area you can create environment for
airport terrorism. You know three or four weeks ago within the
thirty-five minutes of each other, two aircraft took of at Moscow. Those two aircraft one is a Siberian
airline aircraft and the other one I forgot where it was. They
were both domestic flights within Russia and they within
thirty minutes of each other both those aircrafts blew up.
What they did find was a single largest problem at that Moscow
airport was the fact that both of those bombers were female
bombers. Both of those bombers had purchased their way into
the secure area at the airport
UPS: - INSP DENNIS ADRIAO;
NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON SAPS - A number of measures were put in
place from these measures and the last couple of months
there’s been a lot of coverage the number of people that we’ve
been arresting at the airport including own members police
members other government official other people working within
airport environment. And that once
again takes out the weak spot if you want to call it within
the security net that we are creating within the airport.
UPS: - PAUL O’SULLIVAN – The
corruption at Johannesburg international Airport filters right
through not just at ACSA within the police within the customs
within the immigration the cleaners the security contractors it’s every where.
UPS: - VOICER - After the 2001
KLM heist, ACSA realised that
something drastic needed to be done.
They launched what was dubbed
Operation Octopus to clean up the airport and tighten
security.
UPS: BONGANI MASEKO; DIR:
AIRPORT OPERATIONS, ACSA - What operation Octopus was for both us and the SAPS was for the first
time let us together dig into the detail.
UPS: - VOICER - Anti- corruption
efforts are starting to deliver. This year 120 illegal
immigrants have been arrested as
well as a large number of airport officials.
1. 120 illegal immigrant
2. 12 security guards
3. 2 ACSA managers
4. 9 SAPS members
5. 2 home Affairs officials
6. 1 custom official
But there
are encouraging signs that security threats are being tackled
head on. These recruits are being trained
in new ways to beef up security at the airport. But it will take careful monitoring
to make sure they’re part of the new solution and not new
additions to the old problem.
UPS: BONGANI MASEKO;
DIR: AIRPORT OPERATIONS, ACSA – Post 9/11 as an example you
have the formation of the transport security agency in the US
the decision was taken that they will no longer use private
companies to do the screening of passengers. Those are all
going to be government employees that the government can vet
that the government can clear so on and so forth and that was
the weakness that was identified
that is being addressed. And we are
looking at similar things we are looking at how can we lay the
rules and to say if you are this category of person then you
will not be permitted to work within the airport.
UPS: - VOICER - The 2006 Soccer
World Cup in Germany provides ACSA with a chance to fine-tune
its efforts. In some ways it’s a
kind of dress rehearsal for our own spectacle.
UPS: BONGANI MASEKO; DIR:
AIRPORT OPERATIONS, ACSA – There going to be actually a couple
of visits to Germany. Firstly, we want to
learn about how they have been gearing up to prepare for next
yea. What challenges they specifically face we want to match
those against ours to see where we stack up. We will also be
sending a team during the actual World Cup to see what they
are going to be doing as the people actually come through
their facilities.
UPS: - VOICER - Visitors
arriving at Johannesburg International put their safety into
the hands of the authorities. South Africa can
only hope that these difficulties are
sorted out soon. There are enough challenges ahead
without them… as we prepare for the 2010 World Cup.
AD BREAK 2
PRE-TITLE CARLOS AND DADINHA an
update
UPS: - VOICER – July 2003, and
in a Maputo drug house, we found the Mozambican couple Carlos
and Dadinha
Felner spiking heroin. Since then, Carlos and Dadinha have become amongst the
recognizable faces on Special Assignment. He was once a vetinary surgeon, she a United
Auditor. They were amongst the county’s elite. But they lost everything due to
drugs.
UPS: - VOICER – Special
assignment brought the couple separately to Johannesburg where
we followed and filmed their rehabilitation programme. She underwent therapy
for six months, he for two. Carlos returned to Maputo first
but he soon relapsed again. Dadinha
followed him shortly afterwards and it was not long before she
was also back on heroin. They were robbed
and Dadinha was raped. They also
discovered that they were both HIV positive.
UPS: - VOICER – when we found
them in Maputo in November last year they were homeless,
Carlos was desperately sick, they were back on heroin and
talking about death. Their children had also rejected them.
UPS: - CARLOS – If I used drugs
and that retroviral I die in three
or four months. I do want to die.
UPS: - DADINHA – And now yes we
will be together. Probably we will have the funeral at the
same day.
UPS: - CARLOS – and yes maybe
because if Dadinha die I do not
live more two or three months. And
if I die Dadinha won’t live two or
three months I’m sure.
UPS: - VOICER – But Carlos and Dadinha did not die. In fact what we found in Maputo last
week was nothing less than a miracle. They were clean form
drugs, Carlos has gained fifteen kilograms in weight, was
healthy and keeping two jobs at the same time. The couple had
a new flat, bought furniture and had been
reunited with their daughters.
UPS: - DADINHA – When you face
death you think life is worthy. We cannot joke with life. I am
ready to make my life better.
UPS: - CARLOS – I was clear
about death question if I continue doing drugs I will die. I
do not want to die I need to stop.
UPS: - DADINHA – so I must fight
for life because this is precious and learn from your
mistakes.
UPS: - VOICER – Carlos could not
take anti-retrovirals while he was
on heroin. He would have poised his body and die, they simply had to stop their
addiction.
PS: - It is very
difficult. If you want to recover, you must do it properly now
it is July. December was the last time we took it.
UPS: - The question about drugs
it is not in my mind during the normal days. I can spend one
week never remember nothing about drugs.
UPS: - DADINHA – I realized that
I was out of this planet for fourteen years. It is a tremendous pain you know.
Because they suffer, the kids suffer because they watch us
suffering. It is terrible.
UPS: - VOICER – While Carlos was
virtually dying in hospital at the beginning of this year, he heard that he was going to
become a grandfather. It was an important motivation to
recover.
UPS: - CARLOS – in January when
I was in hospital near dying I told
Dadinha I want to live until my grandchild is born.
UPS: - DADINHA – I just want to
be alive when my grandson will be born.
UPS: - CARLOS – Now we need more
three or four years for living with him to go the beach.
The name of the boy is Enzo. Life
is beautiful sure.
UPS: - DADINHA – He said oh Dadinha he is so beautiful. I said
wow this man is changing he never said that his daughter were
beautiful. He went to see his grandson and
he said and I asked him. I was astonished I did not
tell him anything.
UPS: - VOICER – their daughter
Debbie is now a regular visitor to their house
UPS: - DADINHA – I am pretty much worried that the kids
are adults now and we didn’t notice that. I am not crying
because I am sad I am like where I was what it this you know.
UPS: - CARLOS – In our
company we had four farms one of them is this farm.
UPS: - VOICER – for years Carlos
had been neglecting his prime cattle farm about thirty
kilometers outside Maputo. He is now active on the farm again,
buying cattle form peasant farmers and raising them for the
market.
UPS: - CARLOS – I’m happy I always wake up in the
morning smiling before I didn’t do that. I like to walk eating
properly it is very important.
UPS: - DADINHA – eating
properly. Leaving like a family. Receiving visitors at home because the
home is okay. And I’m clean,
I’m with strength, I’m feeling a better person now. Everything change in my life the inside
especially.
UPS: - VOICER – besides being a
farmer Carlos holds two other jobs in the ministry of
agriculture and a shareholder in his company. He is back on
anti–retroviral and on a special health diet. His working day start before dawn and only
ends after dark. Dadinha is
a housewife and plans to start her
own catering business soon. There is simply no time for drugs
UPS: - DADINHA – It is the
amazing. The difference that Carlos is
now for what he was at that time. He is healthy he gained
weight.
UPS: - CARLOS – In generally we
start a complete new life very disciplined we do everything
that we need to do it
UPS: - DADINHA – I am walking
around and never forget to wake up in the morning and say Dadinha you are HIV positive watch out. Tonight sleep and say God
thank you to help me live this oneday. |
