Security has been stepped up at Johannesburg International airport following an attempted robbery of cargo last week, police said on Tuesday.
”Stringent command and control measures have been instituted to ensure efficient service delivery with the ultimate goal of making the airport a safe and secure environment for all visitors,” national police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said in a statement.
”We have worked closely with the Airports Company South Africa [Acsa], security companies employed by Acsa and other relevant role players.”
The move comes after three police officers stationed at the airport were wounded by armed robbers on Thursday night, delaying some flights.
A group of men, who have not been arrested yet, tried to hold up workers loading precious cargo, including gold and diamonds, on to an Amsterdam-bound KLM flight.
De Beer said the national intervention unit (NIU), responsible for all medium- to high-risk policing, and the area crime-combating unit have been tasked with escorting valuable cargo to and from aircraft in armoured police vehicles.
De Beer said police are satisfied with the ”excellent security arrangements in place at the airport”.
She said although the finer details of the plan cannot be divulged, members of the NIU and the combating unit will secure the outer perimeter of the airport.
De Beer said visible policing members will also continue to guard the inside of the airport building, while members from the combating unit will patrol the outer perimeter, both inside and outside the fence.
”They will also control access through all airport gates, together with security guards assigned by Acsa.”
Marked and unmarked police vehicles have been deployed on a 24-hour basis to patrol all routes entering and exiting the airport. They will be in a position to intercept any vehicle used in the commission of a crime on or around the airport premises, she said.
”In addition, reaction groups — the members of which will be residing very close to JIA [the airport] with the capacity for rapid deployment — will be on permanent stand-by to react to any incident on airport property,” De Beer said.
Visible policing members will retain the responsibility of providing a crime prevention service within the arrival and departure areas, as well as the surrounding shops and restaurants in the airport building.
”The area crime-combating unit and NIU would remain in place until the end of December. In January, members who are [at present] being trained specifically for this purpose, and who will resort under the protection and security division, will take over these responsibilities.”
The last major robbery at the airport was in December 2001. Armed men made off with $1,5-million in cash, and more than $100 000-worth of diamonds and jewellery from the cargo depot.
On Monday, Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe said the government is finalising a multimillion-rand aviation security plan, which will provide resources to secure airports around the country. — Sapa