Footage obtained by the Sunday Mirror captures the Pakistani aviation official at Islamabad Airport telling a British traveller he won’t check his luggage if he pays him
d for Britain – in exchange for a £10 backhander.
Footage obtained by the Sunday Mirror captures the Pakistani aviation official at Islamabad Airport telling a British traveller he won’t check his luggage if he pays him the bribe.
He says: “Sort me out and I’ll look after you as well. Give me £10.”
The man’s luggage was later loaded on to an Emirates Boeing 777 with 350 passengers and crew on board, bound for Birmingham via Dubai.
The damning footage has horrified security experts. Philip Baum, editor of Aviation Security magazine, called for an urgent enquiry and said: “It is shocking and extremely worrying.”
And the Department for Transport is now demanding the Pakistani authorities take immediate action.
Security at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport should be the tightest in the world.
It is the gateway to Europe for terrorists and drug smugglers, many from neighbouring Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of people en route to the UK pass through it every year.
The three-minute video was filmed by a Birmingham businessman who was tipped off about airport bribery by Pakistani relatives before he returned home on February 23.
As he pushed his three large suitcases towards the departures desks he was immediately approached by one of several uniformed officials responsible for checking luggage.
Speaking in Urdu, the official goes through the usual check-in questions, then says: “Do you want us not to open the suitcases?”
The businessman replies: “If you want to check, you’re more than welcome. That’s your right. Please check them. I’m getting late.”
Glancing around nervously, the official says: “Checking is compulsory. But if you give me a drink, we won’t open your bags.
"Sort me out and I’ll look after you as well.”
The passenger asks: “A drink? How much are you after?”
The official replies: “Give me £10.”
The businessman refuses to pay and insists his bags are checked as the angry official moves on to other travellers.
In 2008 it was revealed that 22 of the 30 terror plots foiled in the UK had been planned in Pakistan.
On a visit to Islamabad that year, Gordon Brown pledged £6million to fight extremism and improve airport security.
Back home this week, the businessman, who did not want to be named, said: “I fitted the stereotype.
"I was a Pakistani man, travelling alone, in a hurry. I could have been a terrorist.”
A Transport spokesman said: “This footage is extremely concerning and we are glad it has been brought to our attention.
"We are contacting the Islamabad authorities and will make clear we expect them to investigate this as a matter of urgency.”
Mr Baum added: “Normally, the worry centres around baggage handlers or catering staff.
"For a uniformed border official to be taking bribes is a huge cause for concern.
An urgent enquiry is needed.”