WHY DOES THE CUSTOMS SERVICE SEARCH PASSENGERS?
Customs officers must stop contraband, such as narcotics (drugs) from entering the United States. The narcotics are often found in cargo, but they are also found on passengers or in their baggage. Sometimes people swallow narcotics or insert them in their bodies to hide them. The only way to be sure of finding narcotics that are hidden in baggage is to open the bags and examine them thoroughly. The only way to find narcotics hidden on or inside a person is to do a personal search of the person’s clothing and body.
