Port Huron named newest location of BEST program

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Saint Clair County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard recently launched a new security initiative called the Port Huron Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST).

The new initiative will involve officers and agents from federal and local agencies, aiming to identify, interdict, and investigate a wide variety of transnational border crimes including drug smuggling, human trafficking, wanted persons, money laundering, and weapons.

The Port Huron BEST program is one of 44 that exist at major entrances to the United States. Other BEST programs include Miami Seaport, the Southwest Border and the New York Seaport/Canadian Border.

“The Coast Guard is dedicated to this unified effort,” said Edward Songer, residential special agent in charge of the Coast Guard Investigative Service in Detroit. “We are working with our task force partners on cross-border maritime enforcement using a three-pronged approach that leverages the full spectrum of intelligence, investigations, and enforcement operations. The strong partnerships forged through this task force will undoubtedly enhance future shared successes.”

Recent BEST program operations include the recent arrests of a Maryland man on state felony charges of identity theft and of three North Carolina men who were trafficking more than 45 pounds of narcotics.