World Watch: International security updates

Huge cocaine seizure at Australian customs

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service uncovered 240 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a shipment of concrete pavers using L-3 Security & Detection Systems CX-Pallet dual-view cargo inspection system. The CX-Pallet was installed at the Port Melbourne Cargo Examination Facility in June of this year.

The seizure was the fifth-largest cocaine capture in Australian history, with an estimated value of approximately US$73 million.

According to L-3, the CX-Pallet reduces the need to unpack contents for inspection, accelerating screening of consolidated cargo in pallets, crates and ULDs.

Bulgarian airports move away from analogue

Varna and Burgas airports in Bulgaria have installed Milestone XProtect Enterprise software, operating several hundred Axis network cameras in both airports, with IBM servers and Cisco network infrastructure.

At the end of 2006 the German-Bulgarian consortium of the airport operator Fraport AG and the Bulgarian logistics company BM Star won a bid for the operation of both Varna and Burgas Airports – gateways to the popular Bulgarian Black Sea tourist region that includes Sunny Beach. Called the ‘Summer Capital’ of Bulgaria, Varna and Burgas Airports are at the heart of the area.

Prior to 2008, Varna and Burgas Airports had individual systems for different tasks, and analogue surveillance cameras. The analogue technology had limitations in quality like the inability to monitor remotely between the two airports, to expand the systems, or to integrate with other security solutions.

RAD Group installed the Milestone software. Retention of the recorded video is set to the required 30-day regulation. Control rooms at each site with twelve 37” inch display screens each show views of both live and recorded video, which provide overview of the customs area, baggage claim belts, arrival and departure areas, shops, and gates.

Varna and Burgas are also using the Milestone surveillance to monitor aircraft taking off and landing on the runways and on the apron to ensure proper servicing of the planes including baggage and food supply movements, vehicle traffic, and operations around the tanks for refueling. The surveillance system can be viewed and managed centrally by Fraport personnel for both of the airports or locally at each airport, depending on the user access given.

Abu Dhabi Department of Transport expands IP surveillance

The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport (DOT) in the United Arab Emirates is using March Networks’ VideoSphere solution in a new customer care facility to ensure the safety and security of clients and staff, and improve customer service. The solution includes VideoSphere Video Management System (VMS) software, CamPX MiniDome IP cameras and analytics available in the VideoSphere portfolio.

Responsible for Abu Dhabi’s extensive network of road, rail, port and air travel infrastructure, the DOT recently opened the state-of-the-art facility in the Marina Mall to provide permit and licensing services to hundreds of customers daily. Staff are also available to receive transport-related suggestions and complaints from the public.

Working with METECH EST, a March Networks’ Certified Solution Provider based in the region, the DOT has expanded its IP surveillance system with additional CamPX MiniDome IP cameras. In the future, it can also use the solution to integrate existing analogue CCTV infrastructure into the all-IP video network cost-effectively using VideoSphere Edge encoders and powerful video management software.

Belgian town installs integrated video

The Belgium town of Koekelberg has upgraded its obsolete digital surveillance system with a distributed IP Video solution from IndigoVision. With a population of over 18,000, Koekelberg is one of 19 municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital region. The 45 camera system was designed and installed by IndigoVision’s local partner Sicom, a division of Fabricom.

The Town’s original digital surveillance system was becoming unreliable and difficult to expand, but still represented a large investment. It was therefore important to re-use as much of the existing equipment as possible. The flexibility of distributed IP Video allows fast and cost-effective upgrades to existing systems, as original equipment can be re-used – as was the case in Koekelberg, where all the original cameras and network infrastructure were kept.

The security surveillance operators, based in the Town Hall, use ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and alarm management software to view live and recorded video from all the cameras.

“The video management software provides our security team with a set of professional tools to quickly and easily search and retrieve recorded footage, using a simple and logical interface,” said said Laurent Mertens, Koekelberg’s Head of Security. “We have already helped in many prosecutions by exporting evidential video for the police.”

The system will be expanded to allow the local police direct access to the video.