Page 13 - Customs Today Winter1984-OCR

Canada with oil exploration equipment; another is performing a commercial im
portation. From nowhere, a line com
posed of a British Airline crew, forms at the primary lane. They wait for a few
moments, looking impatient and unhap
py. Soon they are cleared. They appear to be happy.
Anchorage is the crossroads for
many airlines coming into the United States from both the Orient and Europe. It is where aircraft are refueled and re-
supplied. It is the airport of dignitaries and royalty. The Pope has passed
through Customs here, as well as Presi dents Carter and Ford. Queen Juliana of
The Netherlands, the Crown Prince of
Japan and Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of England, along with numer
ous Congressional delegations, have pre sented their declarations to Anchorage Customs officers.
While there is a high percentage of
employee turnover because of the isola tion and remoteness, there is, also, a high
percentage of employees who are quite
happy and content with their lives in Alaska. In addition to the majesty and
beauty of Alaska, the diversity of the
work, which entails moving from a vessel to a private aircraft to clearing passen
gers, crew and cargo, seems to be a major positive factor.
John Lupien, the former San Fran cisco Regional Budget Officer, came
back to Alaska and a new career as an in
spector. Lupien, who could have retired or gone to Los Angeles, chose instead to
begin a new life, at age 50. He had been in Alaska from 1966 to 1974 as a budget
officer with the National Weather Serv ice. He returned and is happy he did so. He finds life in Alaska enjoyable and he is pleased with the variety of his work
assignment. Where else can an inspector clear a dog sled or a canoe?
It is a Region of extremes. It is a
Region of tropical ambiguity.
Honolulu, with its weather and beaches and vegetation, seems an unlikely
district to have the largest duty-free shop in the United States. Doing a gross vol ume of $12 million a month, the duty-free shop delivers over 100,000 bags of mer chandise a month to departing passengers.
Honolulu International Airport, with its 193 employees, has the distinc
tion of having some of the most high-risk
flights in the United States. Usually seven flights arrive daily between 7 a.m.
and 9:15 a.m. with some 2,500 passen
gers. In the past 10 months, Customs of ficers have seized 49 pounds of high
quality heroin in 13 major seizures. Most of the heroin seized was from people
traveling with tour groups. Tour groups were once considered to have low-risk
passengers.
During the morning peak of traffic at Honolulu International, there is a
strong smell of fish sauce and dried fish. There seems to be nothing as good as
food from home—travelers cannot visit without bringing some home cooking
with them. According to Lawrence
Barone, Chief Inspector at the airport, there are 12-15 different languages
spoken here. Agricultural examinations and problems tend to slow down the
processing of passengers. Barone says, "They come through here with baggage, boxes and bales. There is a broad spec trum of society coming into this airport—
peasants and the wealthy. We don't talk down to anybody."
George Roberts, 75, is the Honolulu District Director. He started with Customs at Honolulu in 1935, following a tour with the Army as a military policeman. He smiles when he is asked if he began working at the airport. There was no airport here in 1935. By the end of the year though, Pan American brought in one flight a week, landing at Pearl Har bor. He has seen the growth from 30
passengers per week to over 3,500 per
day. He says that there is no resemblance between how things were back in 1935
and today. He seems determined to see how things will be tomorrow.
Hawaii has one of the largest foreign trade zones in the Nation. The Hawaiian
Independent Refinery, Inc., processes 60,000 barrels of oil daily. Oil from In donesia, Malaysia and Alaska is refined to make gasoline, jet and diesel fuel. The district collects $1.5 million per year from the refinery. There are two patrol/intelli gence officers working out of the airport assigned to the "Yakuza," Japanese organized crime groups. "Yakuza" members, well-known for their tattoos and missing fingers, are of interest to Federal and state law enforcement of ficials. Working with the FBI, DEA, BAT&F and the Honolulu Police De partment, Customs has become one of the lead agencies in identifying "Yakuza" members.
It is a Region of extremes. It is a
Region of deceptive beauty.
The Seattle District has some 400
employees and 17 ports. On the Cana dian border, 20 miles east of Blaine,
Washington, is the Dutch community of
CUSTOMS TODAY / WINTER 1984
11
In the Region's laboratory in San Francisco, Chemist Dr. Neal Byington is an expert when it comes to
petroleum products.
At Honolulu Seaport, Inspector Yenlyn Shadowens checks incoming cargo.
An incoming fishing vessel is about to be inspected by Astoria, Ore., Port Director Newton Smith.
A costly logic analyzer seized under Operation Exodus is examined by Los Angeles Inspector Douglas
Dlouhy. Two items seized for copyright and trade mark violations are on the top.
\
i'i
*9t-'"*f-,: f*JiK? f i *B \
<mi
I
■ ** W.«-.'. Ill ^ymBBI^"