Pubdate: Wed, 26 Sep 2007
Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY)
Copyright: 2007 Casper Star-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.casperstartribune.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/765
Author: Eve Byron

DRUG SMUGGLING NOT TOP PRIORITY FOR BORDER AGENTS

Most of the drugs confiscated by federal agents in Montana come from 
people crossing the border at legal ports of entries, which begs the 
question: Do most smugglers try to sneak their wares into the United 
States from Canada through these legal crossings, or are the agents 
just not finding those who are crossing illegally?

The answer seems to be a little of both, according to Mike Milne, a 
spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

He notes that the vast majority of people coming into the United 
States do so at legal border crossings, which could be part of the 
reason for the larger number of drugs confiscated there.

"For instance, on a typical day nationally, 1.1 million people are 
processed through our points of entry," Milne said, adding that the 
figure includes both northern and southern borders. "Those who are 
coming here between the legal crossings are A) entering the U.S. 
illegally, so they already have a violation there or B) are entering 
illegally because they're up to no good in other ways. They're 
smuggling narcotics, currency or other items.

"Are we perfect and catching everything? The answer is no. ... Are 
the borders impenetrable? No. But we're making them more secure and 
have more resources available now."

Those realities are reflected in statistics compiled for the Havre 
sector, which covers 454 miles of the Montana-Canadian border, 
according to Ramon Rivera with the border patrol's office in Washington, D.C.

At legal ports of entry in the Havre sector during fiscal year 2007, 
which runs from Oct. 1, 2006, through the end of this month, agents 
confiscated marijuana 20 times, methamphetamine four times, cocaine 
six times, and psilocybin mushrooms, poppies and Oxycontin once each.

By comparison, during the same time frame at nonlegal points of 
entry, like trails or rural roads, the agents were involved in only 
four incidents involving marijuana, and one each of mushrooms and 
heroin. Only one of those incidents amounted to a quantity large 
enough -- almost 19 pounds -- to be considered something other than 
personal use.

Havre sector spokesperson Alex Harrington said it's not just that 
more people go through the legal entry points; it's also that 
searching for drug smugglers isn't the border patrol's No. 1 objective.

"Our main mission is to look for illegal aliens and terrorists, and 
if the people we stop do have something on them, that's good for our 
agents, but it's not the main reason we stop people," Harrington said.

Confiscating small quantities of street drugs seems to be typical for 
what's also happening at the legal border crossings in Montana, where 
agents typically make one or two large drug busts each year.

Milne expects more smugglers will try to cross the border into 
Montana in the future, since agents have been working the 
Washington-Vancouver border hard in the past decade. These drug 
dealers typically are well-financed, dedicated and resourceful, which 
makes them a "formidable foe" for law enforcement, he said.

Since 2003, the office of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has almost 
tripled the size of the force on the 4,000-mile Canadian border, from 
300 to 928. Overall, that that means each person is responsible for 4.3 miles.

The Havre sector, which stretches from the eastern Montana border to 
the Continental Divide, has 92 agents, or an average of about five 
miles per agent. Havre generally ranks in the middle of the agent/per 
mile ratio of the eight sectors along the northern border.

With all this emphasis on catching terrorists or weapons of mass 
destruction, is it a success or failure of the Havre sector that it's 
made only one arrest of an individual wanted for questioning in 
connection with possible terrorist activities?

"They're not pounding on our door, but we are here just in case," 
Harrington said. "It only takes one terrorist, one individual with a 
grudge against the United States, to come across with something on them.

"We want to make sure another 9/11 doesn't happen."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom