Detroit leading nation in currency and bio-terrorism interceptions
DETROIT — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers conducting operations at ports of entry in Michigan had a banner year, leading the nation in interceptions of unreported currency and biological specimens that pose a threat to our safety and security.
CBP’s Detroit Field Office includes the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, the International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
During Fiscal Year 2019, CBP officers at ports throughout Michigan inspected and facilitated the entry of over seventeen thousand passenger cars, six thousand five-hundred commercial vehicles, twenty-nine commercial aircraft and 15 cargo trains coming from Canada and across the world on a daily basis. Officers also processed more than fifty-thousand passengers per day through our ports.
When the country faced a humanitarian crisis on the U.S. southern border, 50 officers were deployed to assist our CBP brothers and sisters, providing care for the unprecedented number of family units and unaccompanied children that came into CBP custody.
The Detroit Field Office led the nation in unreported currency violations, with over 7.8 million dollars seized.
The total amount of narcotics seized during the year at Michigan’s 5 ports of entry with Canada included, 495 pounds of marijuana; 10 pounds of Fentanyl, enough dosage to kill 1.5 million people; 600 pounds of cocaine; and 13 pounds of methamphetamine.
The apprehension of individuals with outstanding felony warrants for such crimes as homicide, narcotic and human smuggling to name a few, totaled 549.
CBP agriculture specialists intercepted over 2,043 pests, preventing the entry of potentially destructive plant and animal terrors that threaten the nation’s vital agriculture industry. These shipments were either sent back, treated, or destroyed. These specialists also led the nation in the biological terrorism interceptions with a variety of dangerous viral and disease laden specimens prevented from entering the country.
“During this challenging year our officers assigned around the Detroit field office worked countless hours to safeguard the American homeland at and beyond our nation’s borders,” said Christopher Perry, Director of Field Operations for CBP in Detroit. “Our officers steadfastly enforced the laws of the United States while fostering our nation’s economic security through lawful international trade and travel which is vital to Michigan and the great lakes region.”