Pubdate: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2001 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Diana Washington Valdez DRUG SEIZURES UP AT AREA BRIDGES The U.S. Customs Service in West Texas and New Mexico seized more marijuana and methamphetamines in fiscal year 2001 than in the previous fiscal year, according to the agency's statistics. U.S. Customs agents and inspectors also seized more currency, and their cases resulted in more indictments than in fiscal year 2000. "The success of the past year was also the result of a team effort by all the federal inspection service agencies operating at (border crossings)," said P.T. Wright, director of field operations for U.S. Customs in West Texas and New Mexico. "Cooperation has never been better, and the results of the past year prove it." Customs officials reported fewer heroin and cocaine seizures in the region over the previous fiscal year. Friday, U.S. Customs inspectors seized 6,920 pounds of marijuana at the Bridge of the Americas. The load, which was seized from a tractor- trailer, was worth $6.9 million. Officials said the driver, Adrian Calvillo, 28, of Juarez, was arrested in connection with the seizure. John Kelley Jr., the agency's special agent in charge in El Paso, said the goal is "to identify, disrupt and dismantle smuggling organizations. ... Customs special agents have been able to parlay small drug seizures into larger conspiracy cases. It is something we do often and something we do well." Spokesman Roger Maier said customs officers along the entire border were just as busy as their counterparts in the El Paso region. In fiscal year 2001, which ended Sept. 30, U.S. Customs officers from San Ysidro, Calif., to Brownsville, Texas, seized 1.3 million pounds of illegal drugs, compared with 1.1 million pounds seized in fiscal year 2000, Maier said. At the Arizona-Mexico border, U.S. Customs officers seized considerably more heroin, cocaine and currency than in West Texas and New Mexico. For example, officers in Arizona seized 116 pounds of heroin, 4,794 pounds of cocaine, and $6.1 million in currency. In West Texas and New Mexico, officers seized 21 pounds of heroin, 1,991 pounds of cocaine and $1.1 million in currency. Nationwide, the U.S. Customs Service seized 1.7 million pounds of illegal drugs during the latest fiscal year, a 16 percent increase over fiscal year 2000 and double the amount seized four years ago. In a prepared statement, U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Robert Bonner said, "While anti-terrorism is now the Number 1 priority for all U.S. Customs Service officers, the increased drug seizure numbers demonstrate the skill ... of customs employees in interdicting all types of contraband." - --- MAP posted-by: Rebel