Customs may tape drug busts at airports

Customs authorities are considering using audio or video recordings to thoroughly document drug-smuggling cases at airports now that they have lost a series lay judge trials, sources said Saturday.

In many cases, suspects have denied they were smugglers by claiming, for instance, that they didn't know drugs had been put inside their belongings.

"If we can videotape strange behavior or excuses right after what they have in their possession is pointed out, the credibility of our cases will be enhanced in the course of trials," a customs official said.

Some customs offices, including those in Narita, Kansai and Hiroshima airports, have been experimenting with videotaping the discovery of drugs up until the suspects are arrested by police and providing the footage to the courts, the sources said.

At Narita, the main international gateway, a record 119 kg of illegal stimulants were seized in the first half of 2011 alone. Smuggling methods ranged from using chocolate-coated cookies to wheelchairs.

In one instance, Narita customs recorded an officer locating hidden methamphetamines in a suitcase, taking the suspect to an office for questioning and conducting a chemical test. The process was taped until the suspect was arrested by police.

At Hiroshima airport, footage taken of drug cases was admitted as evidence that helped convict a suspect, the sources said.

Smuggling cases involving illegal stimulants sold for profit are being tried under the lay judge system, which uses a panel of professional and lay judges to determine guilt.

The justice system has historically maintained a 99 percent conviction rate, which has remained unchanged since the lay judge system debuted in May 2009.

"It is an arduous task to prepare evidence that destroys the lies of a drug carrier and gains the understanding of citizen judges who are not accustomed to drug cases," said a prosecutor.

Since last year, lay judges have issued not-guilty verdicts in five cases. In each case, the defendants' denials or other excuses for being found carrying drugs were accepted.

Customs bureaus hope to expand use of videotaping to cover the investigation process even after suspects have been arrested. But its officers do not have the right to make arrests, and police interrogations are on a voluntary basis, so the bureaus want the Justice Ministry and the National Police Agency to institutionalize videotaping the entire process.

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