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BOC deploying 16 trace detection systems
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The units will be deployed this April and May as BOC intensifies its non-intrusive inspection capability
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TDS, or the NUCTECH TR3000DE can detect specks of explosives, narcotics and illegal drugs
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Two TDS units have been deployed at Manila International Container Port, two at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and one each at Cagayan de Oro, Manila, and BOC Anti-Drug Task Force
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The rest of the units will be deployed in various ports until May
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is deploying 16 units of trace detection system (TDS) in various ports nationwide this April and May to further intensify its non-intrusive inspection capability.
The TDS, or the NUCTECH TR3000DE, was produced by Chinese security inspection products company Nuctech Co. Ltd. It is designed to detect explosives, narcotics, and tiny bits of drugs. Detection is done by sampling non-visible trace amounts of particulates from shipments, BOC said in a statement.
The newly acquired system boasts of a throughput three times greater than traditional systems, BOC noted.
The TDS is monitored at BOC’s Customs Operations Center, its central facility for the command and control of the intelligence and enforcement operations of the agency’s 17 collection districts nationwide.
BOC has already deployed two units of TDS at the Manila International Container Port and another two at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. One unit each has been deployed at the ports of Cagayan de Oro, Manila, and the Customs Anti-Drug Task Force.
The rest of the units will be deployed in May, with two units each in Cebu and Davao, and one each in Zamboanga, Limay, Subic, Clark, and Batangas.
BOC has previously added x-ray machines to increase its capability in non-intrusive inspection of containerized shipments. The latest four mobile container x-ray machines were turned over to BOC in November 2021 and deployed at the Manila International Container Port, Cebu, Subic, and Cagayan de Oro. These ports have high-volume scanning operations.
