The Customs bureau announced on Thursday it has acquired 19 new X-ray machines to prevent the entry of contraband via personal belongings and hand carried luggage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The acquisition of the machines, according to Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña Jr., was made to address the increasing incidents of smuggling and drug trafficking in airport terminals.
Lapeña said the 10 fixed baggage, seven hand-carried baggage and two mobile X-ray machines worth P172 million will be installed by the winning bidder Casedist Inc. at airport terminals 1, 2 and 3.
The Customs chief said the Rapiscan-brand new machines would also help the NAIA-Customs office to attain its P50 billion revenue target for this year. He explained that taxable items can be easily detected by the scanning equipment.