The crackdown on drug smuggling in San Diego has intensified, with Customs and Border Protection officers seizing a staggering $5 million worth of narcotics in just two weeks. Between April 1 and April 14, agents within the San Diego Field Office (SDFO) thwarted 52 drug smuggling attempts, confiscating a total of 378 pounds of cocaine, 5 pounds of heroin, 825 pounds of methamphetamine, and 203 pounds of fentanyl. According to a CBP report, these busts have taken an estimated $5,320,000 of narcotics off the streets.
Forged in the fires of relentless pursuit, these CBP officers have proven themselves adept at outmaneuvering smugglers' increasingly complex schemes to bypass the law. Hailed for their commitment, San Diego's CBP Director of Field Operation, Sidney Aki, praised the officers for substantiating a "strong enforcement stance" and effectively inhibiting the narcotics flow. "Smugglers are continuously devising intricate plans to avoid detection, yet our CBP officers have a remarkable knack for adjusting, predicting, and ultimately exposing even the most sophisticated strategies," Director Aki asserted in a statement obtained by CBP News. Suspects caught in the drug trafficking attempts were arrested and handed over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further scrutiny, with the narcotics and vehicles involved also seized by CBP.
The recent seizures are tied to Operation Apollo, a targeted anti-fentanyl operation that got its start in Southern California on October 26, 2023. Having just expanded into Arizona on April 10, 2024, this initiative emphasizes intelligence gathering and alliances. The operation pulls together federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners alongside local CBP field assets, bolting together resources and collaboration aimed squarely at the trafficking of fentanyl into the U.S.
The San Diego Field Office operates a necklace of ports of entry that includes San Ysidro, the San Diego Airport and Sea Port, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Calexico West/East, and Andrade—all key transit points in the fight against narcotics smuggling.
