Brazilian flights to Europe are greeted by police at gate... why?

[Skisandy]

Reading the question about Mexican crew humiliation made me think about this issue:

Flights from Brazil to Europe (Heathrow and Frankfurt, not Lisbon) are met by at least 5 heavily armed police, right there at the gate. They are looking over each
and every arriving passenger and are asking most of them for passports. Right there at the arrival gate, long before immigration.

To me the passengers on these flights all look perfectly normal, exactly the same as on any other flight in the world. Average and tired.

No armed police greet the passengers upon arrival from Brazil to the USA, a country which normally is more security conscious/ paranoid.

Does anyone know what they are looking for at Heathrow and Frankfurt?

[wiggy]

Never seen it myself- When did that start?

[Skisandy]

Never seen it myself- When did that start?

October 2017 at Heathrow, May 2018 at Frankfurt

[Sailvi767]

I have had several of my flights from the US met the same way. It is sometimes random or sometimes they are looking for a specific person.

[foxcharliep2]

Visa controls me thinks.
Happens to other flights as well like from Havana in Frankfurt.
Not specific to any country.

[Heathrow Harry]

Possible drugs handed over airside in Brazil and to be handed over before Customs in the UK?

[double_barrel]

It's a regular occurrence in AMS for flights from NBO.

[wiggy]

I have certainly seen flights from various destinations met in such a manner at Heathrow, and the assumption has always been it has been an “intelligence led” decision. I’ve done a couple of Brazilian originating flights fairly recently into LHR and not been aware of armed police on the jetty - hence the comment/question.

[Hotel Tango]

It's really nothing unusual. I have come off flights in the UK, Germany, Netherlands and the USA to be met by immigration officials and sometimes sniffer dogs. The last time I was approached by an immigration official in the UK, it was at Birmingham having come off a flight from Dublin!!! They have a job to do. It doesn't bother me. They will have good reason, probably based on intelligence received.

[Klimax]

It's really nothing unusual. I have come off flights in the UK, Germany, Netherlands and the USA to be met by immigration officials and sometimes sniffer dogs. The last time I was approached by an immigration official in the UK, it was at Birmingham having come off a flight from Dublin!!! They have a job to do. It doesn't bother me. They will have good reason, probably based on intelligence received.

Flights arriving from S.A. are drug traffic routes - due to disgracefully corrupted regime. Extra vigilance on the receiving part, is just to be considered routine - nothing racial about it. Heavily armed is obviously due to the "value" of the "items" and the fact that you're dealing with scruples cartels - the officers at duty should be well prepared for that! Good on them for doing this - I appreciate it. And just think about it before you get offended - not much drug going in the opposite direction. Immigration policies are reciprocal. Sleep safely. Cheers.

[A Squared]

It's a regular occurrence in AMS for flights from NBO.

I travel Dubai-Amsterdam fairly often, and it used to be a fairly frequent thing having police officers at the jetway checking each passenger. I don't think I've seen it since AMS adopted arrival scecurity screening for transit passengers a few years ago.

[sandos]

I remember being met by dogs when arriving in Frankfurt from Caracas about ten years ago. I I just assumed it was drug-related.

I also saw the funniest/most disgusting thing in Venezuela customs. One fine customs official started patting down this african male before boarding the aircraft, and proceeded to sniff, thoroughly, in his shoes....

[EatMyShorts!]

This is SOP in Frankfurt since many years. They are randomly profiling and pre-filtering passengers and this is NOT limited to flights from South America. Also happens on flights coming from Schengen countries (normally no passport control required) e.g. Greece. If there are doubts about the legal status of a traveller, they get taken in to the police station at the airport for further processing. So what?

[CargoMatatu]

Happened to me more than once on arrival at Paris CDG, from different points of origin.
I was pleasantly reassured by it, to be honest.

[tescoapp]

I know this theory might not be very PC....

I might be linked with the looks and dress of the ladys on board why some get more attention than others.

What we doing now?
Don't know the Rio flight is due in 10 mins....
I will have a bit of that.....
Or the Glasgow fight is also due.....
Sod that it will put me off my lunch....

[Squawk7777]

Brazil flights from MIA are checked by US immigration. At least the flights I have seen operated by AA.

[Skisandy]

I know this theory might not be very PC....

I might be linked with the looks and dress of the ladys on board why some get more attention than others.

What we doing now?
Don't know the Rio flight is due in 10 mins....
I will have a bit of that.....
Or the Glasgow fight is also due.....
Sod that it will put me off my lunch....

I am happy to hear from many of you that the Brazil flights don't seem to be singled
out, but that this kind of Welcome is out there for many others also.

Of course, then there is the really only correct answer to my question, from tescoapp, thank you!

[twochai]

It is not unusual for arrivals in Toronto to be met by Canada Border Service officers for a passport check. If they are able to catch undocumented offenders who have have 'lost' their passport enroute before they reach 'Canadian soil' at the top of the jetway, I believe they can send offenders back on the return flight .

Otherwise, it involves many months of expensive incarceration, lawyers, court costs and a heavy drain on Canada's welcome.

[4runner]

You should see what Hong Kong does to kenya airways flights inbound.

[jcw8]

It's hard drugs mainly. Rio to Europe or the Gulf is a regular route for "mules." Transit stops like Dubai/Frankfurt are first in line

[Heathrow Harry]

It is not unusual for arrivals in Toronto to be met by Canada Border Service officers for a passport check. If they are able to catch undocumented offenders who have have 'lost' their passport enroute before they reach 'Canadian soil' at the top of the jetway, I believe they can send offenders back on the return flight .

Otherwise, it involves many months of expensive incarceration, lawyers, court costs and a heavy drain on Canada's welcome.
why dont they use cctv to see what flight they were on??

[A Squared]

why dont they use cctv to see what flight they were on??

???? did you actually read the post you're responding to?

[DCS99]

It was like Crufts Dog Show on the jetty arriving on anything from Colombia...

[llondel]

I always manage to get the attention of the dogs at US airports because the carry-on bag I usually fly with is the one I use to cart stuff to and from work and it often contains fruit. I don't think they've ever asked me to prove there was no fruit in it, the explanation of prior existence of fruit seems to be enough.

I remember seeing a comment once where someone reckoned that a significant proportion of passengers arriving in the UK from the West Indies were probably carrying something of dubious legality.

[krismiler]

Brazilians believe in reciprocity, the visa requirements for a foreigner to visit Brazil are exactly the same as the visa requirements for Brazilians to visit the foreigner's country. When the US started fingerprinting Brazilians on arrival, Brazil responded by fingerprinting Americans on arrival.

Don't be surprised if Brazil responds in kind.

[Piltdown Man]

Possibly a few too many Brazilians pretent to be Portuguese the moment they arrive landside in Europe.

PM

[alemaobaiano]

Don't be surprised if Brazil responds in kind.

Inbound flights in Brazil are often met at the gate by the police, mostly flights from Africa but occasionally flights from Europe too. I suspect that there is a surprising amount of intelligence shared by the various agencies involved, both inbound and outbound.

Nobody here gets upset about it, unlike the fingerprint spat, so there are no demands for reciprocity.

[A Squared]

Possibly a few too many Brazilians pretent to be Portuguese the moment they arrive landside in Europe.

PM

You're average Brazillian isn't going to be any more successful at pretending to be Portuguese than your average American can pull off pretending to be English. Brazilian Portuguese is as different, and different sounding from Portuguese Portuguese as is American English and British English.

[nicolai]

At airports like London Heathrow the police who have airside passes are there partly for protection against terrorist attack and so are armed. So it's not that the police are chosen to attend aircraft for immigration or drugs policing are chosen because they are armed, but because they have airside passes and are in the airport.

That is also why when a passenger starts arguing a bit too much with the airline staff and won't calm down, armed police arrive. They don't need the arms for this problem, but they happen to be armed for their other duties in the airport.

[standbykid]

It is not unusual for arrivals in Toronto to be met by Canada Border Service officers for a passport check. If they are able to catch undocumented offenders who have have 'lost' their passport enroute before they reach 'Canadian soil' at the top of the jetway, I believe they can send offenders back on the return flight .

Otherwise, it involves many months of expensive incarceration, lawyers, court costs and a heavy drain on Canada's welcome.

...and there is nothing more annoying.
Coupled with Pearson's general ineptitude and drawn out entrance experience it's an excellent time!

[flyboyike]

...and there is nothing more annoying.
Coupled with Pearson's general ineptitude and drawn out entrance experience it's an excellent time!

I've never had a problem at YYZ, granted it's been 5+ years since I've been there...

[RR_NDB]

Many people leaving the country. (tourist visas issue?)
Probable at these airports: Tight screening due intel. leads
Increasingly volatile situation due elections this year
RR