El Paso DEA says there’s an influx of drugs coming from Mexico
As thousands of migrants head to our southern borders, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is worried drug smugglers might have the same plan.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been sharing images of massive quantities of methamphetamine caught by agents patrolling the southern border, as the amount of the drug being apprehended is creeping up.
San Diego Director of Field Operations Pete Flores tweeted last week about the discovery of a massive haul of 758 pounds of liquid meth from a male driver trying to get into the U.S. The massive amount of meth was found in the fuel tank of a commercial passenger bus.
He had previously shared images of 10 pounds of heroin and 70 pounds of meth caught in June, as he described “non-stop interceptions” by hard-working CBP officers.
“My hat’s off to you for a job well done,” Flores tweeted.
Meanwhile, Laredo Sector Director of Field Operations Randy Howe described how agents in Brownsville, Texas, seized a whopping $1.9 million worth of meth at a bridge when a 25-year-old Texas resident tried to get back into the U.S.
He was attempting to enter the U.S. in a 2014 Nissan and was carrying two plastic containers holding nearly 100 pounds of meth. A CBP release said the containers were found with the help of the canine unit.
They are just some of the examples of apprehensions taking place at the border – with drugs often found on vehicles coming through ports of entry. CBP announced Wednesday that staff at the Hidalgo International Bridge in Texas intercepted $739,800 worth of alleged cocaine and methamphetamine in just two incidents on the same day.
In one of those incidents, agents at the bridge encountered a Dodge pickup driven by a 39-year-old American woman coming from Mexico. During inspection, they found six packages of alleged meth weighing more than 13 pounds in an ice chest.
While there has been significant focus on the increase in the amount of fentanyl coming across the border, the amount of meth being apprehended is also increasing.
There were 20,223 pounds of the drug seized in May, up from 13,663 in April and more than the 14,442 seized in May 2020. It it the highest amount seized since October, where 22,613 pounds were seized. That number dropped to just 8,340 pounds seized in January, before increasing in the following months.
Drug seizures, overall, however, are down slightly from May last year, with 60,461 pounds of drugs overall seized this year compared to 69,358 pounds seized last year.
May 25, 2021: CBP officers in California discovered more than 1,100 pounds of methamphetamine hidden within a shipment of watermelons
(CBP)
Republicans have accused the Biden administration of incentivizing illegal activity at the border with laxer immigration and border policies, which they say has contributed to the massive spike in migrant encounters and a surge in drugs as well.
The Biden administration has denied that and on the question of drugs has emphasized that it is seeking more funding for enhanced ports of entry to stop drug and human smuggling through the ports.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) border request includes $665 million in investments toward modernizing land ports of entry and $47 million to invest in detection capabilities in addition to investments in border surveillance technology.
Additionally it has launched Operational Sentinel to crack down on the finances of transnational criminal organizations which conduct or organize much of the drug and human smuggling into the U.S.
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