Humberside whistleblowing op is only the 'tip of the iceberg'
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A HUMBERSIDE police initiative that enables hauliers and drivers to anonymously report suspicious activity at the region's ports is due to be rolled out further afield.
Project Yali was launched two months ago and initially aimed only at Humberside's haulage community. It provides companies with a local number and a structure to pass on information that may relate to anything from cigarette smuggling to acts of terrorism and organised crime.
But concerns are growing that crimes uncovered by border force staff and police at UK ports — including human trafficking, drug and contraband smuggling — may only represent a small part of a much larger enterprise and that a substantial amount passes by unnoticed.
Malcolm Bingham, head of policy in the north at the Freight Transport Association, said: "They have been concerned for a while that the things they do find could be the tip of the iceberg.
"What [Special Branch] are conscious about is that there's a certain amount of crime going on that is noticeable, but people don't like to make public statements about it — perhaps due to shyness — but equally a lot of this is linked to organised crime and people don't want to put themselves in the frame."
A spokesman for Crimestoppers, which supports project Yali, confirmed that plans are in place to roll Yali out to "the East, Scotland and the North East".