CBP details northern border surge operation

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has detailed a northern border surge operation resulting in the apprehension of 124 people.

CBP said its Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Plattsburgh Air Unit collaborated with federal, state and local partners to execute Operation Jagdakommando in response to unprecedented illicit cross-border activity.

The operation’s scope involved Plattsburgh Air Unit C-206 Night Owl airplane and H125 ASTAR helicopter crews partnering in the U.S. Border Patrol-spearheaded surge operation along the U.S. northern border. Agents from Bellingham Air and Marine Branch and Great Lakes Air and Marine Branch were sent to Plattsburgh on temporary duty and proved to be vital to the operation’s success.

Plattsburgh Air Unit crews contributed to the apprehension of 124 individuals between April 4 and May 13, 2023. Air crews contributed to the apprehension of 212 individuals in Fiscal Year 2023 through the third quarter, representing a significant increase in migrant apprehensions.

Plattsburgh Air Unit apprehensions account for 83 percent of all apprehensions along AMO’s northern border between Oct. 1, 2022, and June 31, 2023. Plattsburgh Air Unit is part of AMO’s Manassas Air Branch – which has four air units located in Manassas, Virginia; Farmingdale and Plattsburgh, New York, and Old Town, Maine.

AMO specializes in aviation law enforcement and conducts varied missions that include border security operations along the U.S.-Canadian border; investigative missions with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; search and rescue missions; and post-incident response, CBP said.