Part 2

I: The back of the car contained six cases of champagne - no problems there. But then they found eight thousand cigarettes - the legal limit is eight hundred. The driver was arrested.

Mr Kelly, do you search every car that passes through?

K: No, that would be impossible. Thousands of cars drive through the port every day.

I: So how do you know which cars to stop?

K: Well, we often have inside information, but this time, I had a feeling.

I: Just a feeling!

K: Well, perhaps a little more than that. You see a guy on his own, he doesn't look like a businessman, it's the middle of the week ... and you think, `What is he up to?'

I: That's it?

K: No - then we ask a few simple questions. We watch their body language, and you can usually tell if they're lying.

I: You can see it in their eyes?

K: Well, not in the eyes, because they don't usually look at you. They often hide their hands, too. But there are other signs. Have you ever noticed the way people sometimes touch their face a lot when they are lying?

I: So, just by looking at them, you can -

K: No, you have to listen, too. To begin with, they often say very little, just the minimum. Just `Morning, officer' or `Afternoon, sir.' They don't give you precise information like names of places. And then they sometimes start saying too much, saying any old rubbish to fill the silence.

I: I've read somewhere that liars usually use more negative verbs. Have you found this?

K: Yes, that's right. Also, their voice often goes up, `Er, no, not much,' and they sound scared.

I: Does anyone ever get past you?

K: Oh, yeah. We've caught hundreds of the little guys, but we hardly ever catch the big ones, the real professionals.

I: Gerald Kelly, thank you very much. With contraband cigarette sales approaching fifty per cent in some parts of England, customs officers have clearly got a difficult job on their hands.

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