Freetown — Public relations officer of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA) has told Concord Times that the security status of containers exported out of the country was very poor.

Moray Jusu said the container manager has no knowledge of securing containers that are loaded for exportation out of the country.

He said before a container leaves the country the consignee should present allocation of forms which he or she should obtain from the shipping agency for the attention of the container manager.

"This is the first procedure and it involves not only logs, but all goods that are being sent out of the port," he said.

Jusu explained that the allocation of forms was a document used at the port to make payment for containers to be loaded on export cargo.

A senior director at Intertek Sierra Leone, who refused to disclose his identity, said they are only responsible for containers brought to them by the ports authority. "And when the containers are brought to us, we scanned first," he disclosed.

He said his company only scanned and x-rayed loaded containers that have been listed for inspection as suspect. He added that the National Revenue Authority and customs take away these containers for searching and decide whether to release or arrest them.

He said intertek identified about two containers with scrap metal during the ban and handed them over to the authorities concerned.

Efforts made to contact NRA and the customs and excise department proved futile.