Newsstand - Customs in force at LAX - anyone else seeing this

Arrving on a LH FRA-LAX flight yesterday, 20 YES 20 customs officers were in the hallway BEFORE Immigration randomly stopping people. I was asked "where I was coming from" and "what do you do" - and then he wrote a C2 on my customs form. I was SURE I was going to get the full treatment, but went through Immigration then Customs at the exit and wasn't searched.

Anyone noticed this at LAX Tom Bradley arrivals??

U.S. Customs and Immigration often tags a particular flight based on information gleened from U.S. or foreign intelligence sources, or even suspicions from the originating airport.

These flights get extra special attention and are pre-screened before the passengers mix in with other flights in the general arrivals hall.

Sounds like you were on one of these.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PremEx:
U.S. Customs and Immigration often tags a particular flight based on information gleened from U.S. or foreign intelligence sources, or even suspicions from the originating airport.

These flights get extra special attention and are pre-screened before the passengers mix in with other flights in the general arrivals hall.

Sounds like you were on one of these.</font>

Make a note - it would seem that "special" flight means a flight I am on - I will post my itens for your warning http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

This has always happened occasionally pre-9/11 as well.

I've had the pre 9/11 encounters, mainly this happened to me when arriving from S. America, I guess for money/drug runners. You would get asked were you were going. If it was a domestic destination they left you alone. If you stated you were connecting outside the US then you got the 3rd degree on why are you doing it via the US.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NickP 1K:
I've had the pre 9/11 encounters, mainly this happened to me when arriving from S. America, I guess for money/drug runners. You would get asked were you were going. If it was a domestic destination they left you alone. If you stated you were connecting outside the US then you got the 3rd degree on why are you doing it via the US.</font>

Yeah, they love searching those SA flights for drugs. If one pax gets found with them, the whole flight gets the hard search.

Why would they care if you were connecting through the US on an international flight?

d

From what I was told from Continental folks in HOU was that Customs does catch quite often money and drug runners going from S.America to Europe

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NickP 1K:
From what I was told from Continental folks in HOU was that Customs does catch quite often money and drug runners going from S.America to Europe</font>

Yep -- i come up CO from ecuador and columbia a few times a year and invariably get a decent questioning why i'm travelling by myself. It's the only trips I don't bring back cuban cigars http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I came into Bradley a week before 9/11 on a Varig flight that had come from GIG-LIM. We were bused to customs/immigration, and before we had even entered the building, there were a large number of agents who specifically targeted some of the passengers. I don't know whether they were looking for specific passengers, but they were targeting men in suits.

John

[This message has been edited by SoFlyOn (edited 09-29-2002).]

Two weeks ago I was the only person on a full 747-400 flight from NRT pulled aside for potential bag search as soon as they learned I had been in Indonesia. But when the customs officer at the side found I had only been in Bali and that I was on a one week type of mileage run, I was passed through easily.