Cash, drug seizures up at ports of entry

Posted: Mar 01, 2011 5:42 PM CST
Updated: Mar 01, 2011 7:30 PM CST

Reporter: Sergio Avila

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Arizona has become the center of debate on the smuggling of both people and drugs. As a result the feds have poured money to fight the criminal organizations responsible. At the ports of entry Customs and Border protection spokesman Brian Levin tells KGUN9 News they've seen a dramatic increase in the amount of cash they're seizing headed south.

"What we're looking at here is something that's definitely going to hurt them. How much it's going to hurt them I don't know but every dollar we take from them affects their ability to operate," Levin said.

That money is typically believed to be headed straight toward the pockets of Mexican drug cartels. But Levin says it's pretty hard to tell it's exact destination.

"This money could be going out primarily we're looking at the drug cartels but it's also for those organizations maybe involved in alien smuggling, it could be going out to terrorist organizations it could be going out to any sort of transnational criminal organization," Levin said.

CBP just released their seizure totals from last year and in 2010 they seized about $7.3 million. In 2009 they nabbed nearly five million and back in 2008 just about one million. Levin says an increase technology, infrastructure and manpower is what's helping them catch these criminals and their contraband.

Last year also saw more drugs being taken off the street as customs officers seized about 123,00 pounds at the ports. In 2009 CBP seized just about 105,000 pounds.

So if they're seeing more seizures, how does CBP respond to critics who say the border is no where near secure?

"We have more resources out here than we've ever had in the past and you can see we're having an impact. You can see that we're intercepting and seizing more narcotics, we're stopping more aliens smuggling attempts, we're intercepting the bulk currency and weapons smuggling going out of here," Levin said.

Levin tells us they feel they're doing a much better job putting the smugglers off balance and making the criminals adapt to the latest levels of enforcement.

There has been an alarming upward trend at the ports. Levin tells KGUN 9 News they've seen a huge number of minors being used to smuggle drugs. Most often cartels are recruiting young girls from age ten and up.

Levin wanted to make it a point that if caught these children can face severe consequences that could haunt them well into their adult lives.

http://www.kgun9.com/global/story.asp?s=14166953