A review by the Revenue Commissioners of customs and immigration controls at private airports is expected to be completed in six weeks, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen told the Dáil. The review is being undertaken in the wake of the seizure of €10 million worth of heroin in Belgium from a plane bound for Weston aerodrome in Co Kildare.
Labour's finance spokeswoman Joan Burton renewed a call for permanent customs and immigrations controls to be placed at the State's 27 private airports, claiming that it was an "open invitation to any serious drug criminal, many of whom have tens of millions to spend, to use this mechanism to swamp the country with drugs".
Mr Cowen said, however, that "I do not think one should draw a conclusion that the flights that pass through our aerodromes are all drug laden. That is not a fair reflection."
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