ANALYSIS by Michael Knowles
THE Home Office says that with drug smugglers using increasingly sophisticated methods it had to arm the police with the latest technology too.
The number of routes into this country available to drugs gangs shows the massive scale of the challenge.
And, with so many different options, it is vitally important that law enforcement agencies are able to utilise intelligence to close down the most frequently used.
Once the major ports are locked down, this will give investigators a significant advantage.
It could see prices rise again for customers and reduce the demand. Much has been made about how easy it is to get drugs. If it is far harder for dealers to get their products into the country, most casual users will lose interest.
And if such technology can be developed to combat the drugs trade, could something similar be used against people smugglers?
During our time in France, reporting on the Channel migrant crisis, we were easily able to find out which beaches were most used. It was no secret about the number of different options the smugglers had.
What if…