Customs modify rules after US bomb scare

New Zealand Customs has modified rules surrounding packages coming into the country following the recent discovery of explosives found in parcels being posted to Jewish sites in the United States from Yemen.

Customs has increased the risk assessment on all parcels particularly those coming from the Middle East, group manager of Trade and Marine, Paul Campbell told NZPA.

"All cargo that's ended up through the Customs cargo management system is run against our intelligence risk tools and what we have done is updated the risk assessment based on the events over the last 24 hours and that's not just in respect to cargo out of the Middle East, but all cargo [in case it has been rerouted through another country]."

Customs would also pay particular attention to air and sea cargo from the Middle East, he said.

"We've also updated the level of intelligence available to our officers in our sea cargo and air cargo inspection facilities."

Mr Campbell said Customs followed this procedure whenever any increased threat was identified.

New Zealand received relatively low numbers of cargo directly from Yemen, he said.

Today, Germany and Britain both announced they would no longer accept air freight from Yemen.

Yesterday Yemeni forces arrested a woman and her mother, believed to be involved in sending explosive packages bound for the United States that triggered a global security alert.

The arrest was the first in the case, in which two air freight packages containing bombs - both sent from Yemen and addressed to synagogues in Chicago - were intercepted in Britain and Dubai.

Yemeni officials said the woman had been traced through a telephone number she had left with a cargo company.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said the bomb intercepted in the UK was powerful enough to bring down a plane and had been designed to explode mid-air.

A US official said authorities believe the second device found in Dubai was similarly potent.

- NZPA, AP