U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at eight South Texas ports of entry seized significantly more cocaine and fentanyl in 2021, officials said Wednesday.
According to CBP, officers have seized 1,066 percent more fentanyl and 98 percent more cocaine in fiscal year 2021, than in fiscal year 2020. The office also reported that they had seized a significant amount of unreported currency, weapons and uncovered numerous immigrations violations during FY 2021 which runs from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021.
“Faced with significantly less traffic due to travel restrictions imposed for public health reasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the drug and contraband threat remained the same and our frontline CBP officers rose to the challenge to meet that threat head-on,” said Director, Field Operations Randy J. Howe, Laredo Field Office. “Our significant gains in fentanyl and cocaine seizures underscore the deadly nature of the contraband we encounter, the need to utilize Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect our officers, and our continued resolve to carry out our vital border security mission.”
Officers seized 87,652 pounds of narcotics with a combined street value of $786 million, including 8,592 pounds of cocaine and 588 pounds of fentanyl. Additionally, the officers seized more than $10 million in unreported currency, 463 weapons, and 84,863 rounds of ammunition.
CBP officers in the Laredo Field Office also determined that more than 20,701 non-U.S. citizens were inadmissible to the United States due to violations of immigration law.