Thirty people banned from World Cup entry
Cricket: Around 30 people so far have been denied entry to the
Caribbean with two weeks to go before the official opening ceremony of
the World Cup.
Peter Phillips, Jamaica's national security minister, who is leading
the Caribbean community's security programme for the cricket showpiece,
said the measures were taken by Caribbean immigration officials using
technology provided by Interpol.
The international criminal police organisation is providing the
region with technology that allows law enforcement officers at airports
and seaports to instantly check passports against the group's global
database of stolen and lost travel documents.
The database contains information on more than 13 million documents
from over 120 countries.
Ronald Noble, Secretary General of the Paris-based Interpol,
acknowledged that the region's use of the technology is a major boost in
the drive to ensure that the March-April tournament passes off safely.
"We have done something that is historic and extraordinary as we put
the most advanced border control system in place in the Caribbean region
than anywhere else in the world," said Noble.
"To give you an idea of how powerful this system is - each month here
in the Caribbean 96,000 passport travel documents and visas are screened
against Interpol's data base instantly."
At the same time, John Collymore, head of World Cup security
operations has boasted of an an "impregnable" security system in place
for the event.
"You never know what will happen, but our planning has attempted to
move seamlessly," he said.
KINGSTON, Monday (AFP) |