In the customs office of Veracruz, Mexico, X-ray and gamma-ray technology teams operate, which are called «non-intrusive inspection teams».
This equipment is used in the customs clearance process, in the inspection of goods that are inside cargo transportation means without the need to open them.
With its use, the strengthening of customs recognition and national security is sought.
To verify the functioning and operation of the non-intrusive review equipment used in the reviews and inspections prior to customs clearance, the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF) made a visit in November 2021 to the Veracruz customs office.
Gamma rays
During that visit, it was found that the customs office has three mobile X-ray equipment owned by the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and two fixed equipment owned by the Integral Port Administration of Veracruz (APIVER), which are operated by nine certified public servants. for your operation.
This equipment is used to scan 100% of the containers that disembark at the port of Veracruz in order to detect any incident or anomaly regarding what is declared in the shipping manifests. This procedure is carried out jointly with personnel from the Secretary of the Navy.
Likewise, it was found that the customs office has 12 gamma ray equipment owned by APIVER, and these are operated by 38 public servants of the SAT, who are certified as gamma ray operators.
Additionally, it was identified that the customs office has four radiation sensors with identification readers called «Radiation Portal Monitor» (RPM) and «Optical Character Recognition» (OCR), donated by the Department of Security of the United States, which They are used to detect through sensors if the transported merchandise emits radiation and keep a record of the data of the vehicle that transports the merchandise.
Both gamma ray equipment and RPM-OCR are used to scan the means of transport in customs clearance.
Likewise, it was verified that, in order to guarantee the correct functioning of the non-intrusive review teams, the SAT formalized four preventive and corrective maintenance contracts with four suppliers.
In this regard, the ASF verified that the preventive and corrective maintenance services were carried out in accordance with the programs and schedules established in the formalized contracts.
In 2020, the Veracruz customs office carried out 399,365 foreign trade operations, of which the SAT reported that 82 were PITA lane performance tests, which represented only 0.02% of total foreign trade operations.
