Border Security: Australia's Front Line

A passenger breaks the air travel rules that have changed since terrorism by carrying fireworks in their luggage. Immigration interview a New Zealand man who has a criminal record. Customs officers target a multi-million dollar black market trade in Medicare-subsidised prescription drugs.

An officer's search for the right answers leads to a verbal stoush in Customs. Immigration officers interview an Irish bricklayer that they suspect is double-dipping on his working holiday visa. A passenger's bad behaviour has everyone on edge in Quarantine.

A passenger's nervous behaviour has everyone in Customs on edge. Off the central Queensland coast, Customs search an enormous cargo ship where every nook and cranny is a possible hiding place. A passenger's startling comment makes Customs officers concerned that his life may be in danger.

A phone call could change the fate of a passenger who is desperate to stay in Australia. Customs officers investigate a suspicious package from India. Unusual behaviour from a Chinese student in Melbourne attracts the attention of Customs.

Unusual behaviour from a passenger leads Customs to wonder if he is playing games. Immigration compliance officers face some unexpected hurdles in the search for an illegal worker hiding in a market garden in western Sydney. A passenger is suspected by officers to be carrying drugs, but the situation takes a dramatic turn.

Customs officers suspect that two female passengers are trying to hide something. A passenger who failed to declare some tapa mats gets upset over his treatment in Quarantine. Customs officers board a mystery ship after it fails to respond to their radio calls.

A Colombian dance instructor may have stepped out of line when Customs officers find heroin readings on samples from his bags. Quarantine officers at the Internation Mail Handling Unit receive a box that smells so foul that it gives them a headache. Immigration compliance officers search a western Sydney warehouse, but obstructions could help a Filipino man they suspect of being an illegal immigrant to get away.

A Californian passenger is unhappy about being questioned by Customs. A Customs officer has suspicions about a parcel that has arrived at the International Mail Handling Unit from Peru. A student returning from China tries to con Quarantine by smuggling bags of food and then "declaring" it on a second passenger card.

Customs suspect that a Malaysian passenger that is hiding something may not be working alone. Some filthy clothes could hold the key to a major Customs investigation. A suspected illegal non-citizen keeps Immigration compliance officers on their toes during a raid at a steel fabrication plant in outer western Sydney.

Immigration interviews a Phillippine tourist who has a stash of male student identity cards and some undeclared medication. In Brisbane, when a Lebanese passenger gets upset after Quarantine seizes some food that she has brought into the country as gifts for her family, her son in law makes a political issue out of it. In Sydney, a passenger returning from a round-the-world trip catches the attention of Customs officers.

Looks back at some emotional and nervous passengers that Customs, Immigration and Quarantine have interviewed.

Looks back at some memorable characters encountered by Customs, Immigration and Quarantine officers and their attempts to enter Australia.

Customs officers are horrified by the mysterious contents of an unidentified bag. The Navy, Department of Fisheries and Customs combine in a big operation to stop illegal fishing boats poaching in Australia's rich northern waters. Customs officers find narcotics elaborately concealed inside two printer cartridges.