MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Reuters has analyzed a dataset of drug seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexican border from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2022, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
According to experts and officials, the analyzed data reflects changes in trafficking patterns and authorities’ increased focus on fentanyl. The data specifically covers seizures at southern border ports of entry, where the majority of illicit drugs consumed in the United States, including fentanyl, are smuggled.
However, it is important to note that the data does not capture the trafficking of fentanyl from Mexico to the United States through other methods such as international mail, airplane luggage, maritime shipping containers, underground tunnels, and drones.
Reuters also requested seizures of drugs by Border Patrol agents between ports of entry along the vast stretches of the southern border through a FOIA request. Unfortunately, CBP did not respond to this request, so the analysis does not include drug seizures between ports of entry.
Border Patrol seizures represent a small portion, between 13% and 19%, of the total weight of seizures at the border for cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. However, for marijuana, nearly 70% of the total weight of seizures at the southern border occur between ports of entry, as indicated by CBP data available online. The online data also show that trends in seizures at ports of entry align with those between ports of entry for the five principal drugs analyzed by Reuters.
The dataset initially included 107,353 rows, including descriptions of drug seizure events and samples of seized drugs. Reuters excluded samples from its analysis and focused on the five most commonly seized drugs – marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl – which account for 84% of all seizures at southern border ports of entry over the past decade.
To estimate opioid doses seized at the U.S.-Mexico border, Reuters made several assumptions regarding the purity of the seized drugs based on averages reported by CBP and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The analysis concludes that fentanyl doses are likely undercounted, given that the analysis assumes purity levels of 8% for fentanyl powder and 1.25% for fentanyl tablets, with some of the seizures not mentioning these specific words.
The analysis also revealed an overall increase in drug seizures in 2020 compared to 2019, accompanied by a rise in low-weight seizures and seizures on pedestrians. Experts suggest that these increases may be attributed to CBP’s ability to inspect more border-crossers due to decreased traffic at the start of the pandemic. Methamphetamine seizures, on the other hand, have declined over the past 18 months, which has puzzled experts consulted by Reuters.
While some experts speculate that the decline may be due to law enforcement focusing more on detecting fentanyl, others suggest that organized crime groups may be trafficking less methamphetamine due to falling retail prices or market saturation with potential users.
Overall, Reuters’ analysis of drug seizures at the U.S.-Mexican border provides valuable insights into the evolving patterns of drug trafficking and law enforcement efforts to combat it.
(Reporting by Jackie Botts; Editing by Janet Roberts and Frank Jack Daniel)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
