Cincinnati – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Cincinnati DHL express consignment facility have increased seizures of illegal drugs by more than 50 percent over last year. As the volume of international parcels steadily expands at DHL, CBP officers are finding and intercepting more drugs hidden in shipments using a variety of law enforcement tools especially designed for use in express consignment locations.
|
||||
“Drug smugglers are very adaptable and resourceful in developing ever
changing techniques used to conceal and smuggle their illicit contraband into
this country,” said David Murphy, CBP Chicago Director Office of Field
Operations. “Our officers have honed their specials skills utilizing officer
experience and training to combat, detect and identify these ingenious and
specialized smuggling attempts in the express carrier environment. Complimenting
these efforts are our ever faithful and effective detector dogs whose keen nose
and instincts ferret out these harmful shipments of contraband no matter how
they are disguised.”
So far this fiscal year, CBP officers have made 556 seizures of
narcotics at this facility which is the largest DHL hub of its kind in the
country. Officers are up all night using CBP systems, X-ray machines, radiation
technology, and drug detector canine teams to examine and process all incoming
freight. The total combined weight of the seizures was more than 6,300 pounds.
Cleverly concealed illegal caches of cocaine, methamphetamine,
ecstasy, hashish, heroin, khat, marijuana and opium have been found and
intercepted by CBP officers from within shipments of infant beds, face cream,
mattresses, books, picture frames, furniture, children’s toys, computer parts,
gaming chairs, machine parts, plastic parts, shin guards, purses, dresses,
woodchips, shoes, boards, wicker baskets, and spools of yarn. Since the start of
the new fiscal year in October 2010, the volume of express parcels at this
facility has increased by 19 percent. Drug seizures for the same period last
year totaled 365, with a combined weight of 2,835 lbs.
All international packages and cargo shipped through express
consignment environments are examined by CBP. There are 25 express consignment
carrier facilities located throughout the nation where CBP officers process
millions of inbound and outbound parcels overnight. CBP agriculture specialists
also work at these facilities and intercept thousands of actionable pests to
protect the health and safety of U.S. agricultural resources.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency
within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control
and protection of U.S. borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is
charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while
enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
No comments:
Post a Comment