Crime syndicates are exploiting flaws in a federal government computer system that have enabled them to learn if shipping containers holding their drugs are being scanned and searched by authorities.

The flaws are in the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service's Integrated Cargo System, which provides importers of goods with a means to track the movement of their cargo through port terminals.

"We know that criminals target our staff and our systems." ... chief executive of the Custom and Border Protection System's Integrated Cargo System, Michael Carmody.

Law enforcement agencies have discovered the system is being used by criminals to check if their shipping containers have been moved to a Customs Examination Facility or treated in a manner that suggests police attention.

State and federal policing agencies have discovered several instances where criminal syndicates have abandoned contraband-filled containers as a result of being tipped off via the computer system that their cargo was to be examined.