CFR Freight has issued an unequivocal warning to all prospective parties mulling exploitation of the neutral consolidator’s services after the company recently successfully red-flagged contraband cargo destined for Dubai. According to airfreight director Stephen Bishop, CFR’s “processes were good enough to catch this shipment, hence the successful bust” after SA Revenue Service (Sars) was “shown where to look”. Had it not been for the company’s progressive conduct the shipment containing 116kg of rhino horn with an approximate value of R23 200 000, and likely several times that on the street, would have been smuggled out. “Clients can’t use us as an avenue to smuggle goods and we will continue building on our processes and resources to ensure this,” Bishop said. First and foremost “no cash client who hasn’t agreed to and signed the company’s standard trading terms and conditions (STC) will be allowed to freight cargo through us”, he said. Additionally, the company has decided to acquire the services of an indigenous species sniffer dog. “We are mandated to screen for explosive cargo on site and we do. We also have an externally sourced and trained explosives sniffer dog but we’re looking at bringing in an additional dog to assist us with the detection of rhino horn and other types of contraband some clients think they can smuggle through us. Basically we’re looking at closing all the gaps that criminal interests think they can exploit.” Bishop furthermore said it had been found that smugglers targeted consolidators such as CFR because most multi-national freight forwarders would not work with cash clients. However, CFR cannot rule out all cash-only clients, “provided that they sign our STCs. “Because we’re a neutral consolidator it’s an intrinsic part of our business. “We’re just tightening measures to make sure people don’t take advantage of cash deals.” Reflecting on recent events, Bishop said “it’s not only us who are exposed. We reached out to several of our competitors and we’re working together to guarantee that going forward smugglers are closed out.”
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We’re looking at closing all the gaps that criminal interests think they can exploit. – Stephen Bishop
