Tag: Smugglers

CBP Officers in Cincinnati Seize Disinfecting Wipes Containing 4Lbs of Marijuana


As the Coronavirus continues to affect people’s lives, more and more people are purchasing cleaning supplies online. However, smugglers are using this pandemic to conceal nefarious activities. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati seized a shipment of disinfecting wipes that contained a little bit more than what you can find on your store shelf.

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On May 6, 2020 CBP Officers inspected a shipment arriving from Canada and heading to a doctor in Barbados. Officers held the package for inspection based on their experience, x-ray anomalies and a drug detector canine alerted to the parcel. Inside officers found disinfecting wipe canisters and other cleaning products.

However, inside those canisters and other packages was four pounds of Marijuana.

“The dedication and vigilance of our officers at our express consignment facilities continues to prevent a substantial amount of drugs from reaching their destination,” said Richard Gillespie, Port Director, Cincinnati. “This is another excellent example of what U.S. Customs and Border Protection does each and every day.”

CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality. 

CBP seized an average of 3,707 pounds of illicit narcotics every day during 2019 across the United States. Learn about what CBP accomplished during “A Typical Day” in 2019.

CBP.gov (May 2020) CBP Officers in Cincinnati Seize Disinfecting Wipes Containing 4Lbs of Marijuana

Agents Foil Two Drug Smuggling Attempts Over the Weekend


Four men were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector agents while attempting to smuggle drugs in a remote area of New Mexico over the weekend.

Late Saturday evening, Santa Teresa station Border Patrol agents were alerted to a group of four subjects carrying several large backpacks from Mexico into the U.S. Agents responded to the area and engaged in a foot pursuit. Camera operators assisted the agents in pinpointing the location of the fleeing Mexican nationals and they were taken into custody. Agents also recovered the three backpacks with the suspected contraband at a pickup location nearby.  

Agents contacted the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office and prosecution was accepted for the three adult males. The fourth individual is a juvenile that will be expelled back to Mexico.

Earlier in the day, a gray Jeep Wrangler with one male occupant entered the primary inspection area at the Alamogordo Border Patrol Station checkpoint. During their investigation, agents requested and were granted permission to conduct a search of the vehicle.  Another agent inspecting the vehicle notified fellow agents to conduct a more thorough physical search of the vehicle after his canine partner alerted to the possible presence of narcotics.

Border Patrol agents discovered an assortment of drugs and paraphernalia during the search. The driver of the rental vehicle was identified as a 27-year-old U.S. citizen. He was turned over to the Otero County Sheriff’s Department for prosecution.

“Our Border Patrol Agents are tireless in their continued efforts to keep criminals and illegal narcotics out of our community” said Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez, El Paso Sector Border Patrol.

The men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol seek to disrupt the drug smuggling operations along the border and at immigration checkpoints within the United States. They aim to keep dangerous drugs out of the neighborhoods and communities where they live and work.   

U.S. Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens are encouraged to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol while remaining anonymous by calling 1-800-635-2509.  

CBP.gov (April 2020) Agents Foil Two Drug Smuggling Attempts Over the Weekend

CBP Assists US Law Enforcement Partners and British Royal Navy in $46.2 million in cocaine seizure in the Caribbean Sea

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported that the British Royal Navy and U.S. law enforcement partners seized 1,400 kilograms (3,086) pounds of cocaine and detained nine suspected smugglers


The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported that the British Royal Navy and U.S. law enforcement partners seized 1,400 kilograms (3,086) pounds of cocaine and detained nine suspected smugglers following the interdiction of two separate drug smuggling events in the Caribbean Sea Jan. 24 and Jan. 30, 2020.

The US Coast Guard cutter Bear delivered the seized contraband and detainees from both cases to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-Homeland Security Investigations, and Drug Enforcement Administration special agents in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday.

The interdiction was a result of an international, multi-agency law enforcement effort in support of Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard, Campaign Martillo (a joint, inter-agency, 20-nation collaborative counter narcotic effort), and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF) and will be prosecuted by the U.S. Federal District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

In the first interdiction, the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy RFA Mounts Bay, while on patrol with a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) and a Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) armed helicopter onboard, detected two suspicious go-fast vessels, approximately 74 nautical miles south of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The RFA Mounts Bay launched the Coast Guard HITRON helicopter and the ship’s pursuit vessel with the Coast Guard LEDET to interdict both suspect vessels. 

The Coast Guard LEDET boarding team, with the assistance of RFA Mounts Bay crew members, boarded the suspected vessels, apprehending the seven men and seizing 42 bales of suspected contraband. 

In the second interdiction, a marine patrol aircraft detected a northbound target of interest, southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic. The cutter Bear along with a helicopter responded to interdict the go-fast.  Cutter Bear’s Over the Horizon cutter boat and embarked helicopter arrived on scene and stopped the go-fast.  Cutter Bear’s boarding team detained the two men aboard the go-fast, after discovering 13 bales of suspected contraband.

CBP is part of the Caribbean Border Strike Force (CCSF); an initiative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office created to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations operating in the Caribbean. CCSF is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which investigates South American-based drug trafficking organizations responsible for the movement of multi-kilogram quantities of narcotics using the Caribbean as a transshipment point for further distribution to the United States.

CBP.gov (February, 2020) CBP Assists US Law Enforcement Partners and British Royal Navy in $46.2 million in cocaine seizure in the Caribbean Sea

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