Pubdate: Fri, 19 Oct 2001
Source: Desert Sun (CA)
Copyright: 2001 The Desert Sun
Contact:  http://www.thedesertsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112
Author: Kenny Klein

MEXICAN DRUG SMUGGLERS BOOSTING BORDER SHIPMENTS

Stepped-up enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border -- including Calexico's 
port of entry -- immediately following the terror attacks of Sept. 11 had 
cut heavily into the drug trade.

But more than a month after the attacks, the border drug business is again 
on the rise -- impatient smugglers have begun to move their supplies. "They 
have payrolls to meet like anyone else, and they know there's a market on 
this side of the border," said San Diego-based U.S. Customs spokesman Vince 
Bond.

Marijuana and other drugs that are smuggled across the border often make 
their way through the Imperial and Coachella valleys to Los Angeles.

Seizures: Drug seizures from late September through Saturday were nearly 
double the total in the two weeks following the attacks on New York and 
Washington, D.C.

 From Sept. 30 to Oct. 13, U.S. Customs agents made 105 drug seizures, 
compared to 63 from Sept. 9 to Sept. 22, said customs officials.

The new trend of seizures are a direct result of the ongoing Level-One 
alert, the agency's highest security response, Bond said.

That means agents are conducting more inspections and searching more 
vehicles at each of the five southwest ports of entry.

The numbers also seem to show that more smugglers are trying to move their 
shipments across the border.

"They are trying to blend like a needle in a haystack," Bond said of the 
smugglers. "The haystack is the thousands of motorists entering the United 
States."

But a heavier government presence at the Southwest's five points of entry 
still made a difference in September compared to the same time last year, 
according to U.S. Customs figures.

During September at the points of entry in San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, 
Calexico and Andrade, U.S. Customs agents made 186 marijuana seizures 
valued at an estimated $10.3 million, compared to 309 seizures valued at 
about $15.6 million during the same period last year.

Local impact: For local narcotic agents, however, it's business as usual, 
said one Palm Springs drug agent. "We have heard about what's happening at 
the border, but it really has not changed anything around here," said Palm 
Springs Narcotics Task Force Agent Greg Jackson. "I don't think any 
narcotic agents have seen a drop in the amount or price of drugs that are 
on the streets."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom