Smuggling

October 1, 2009 -- HOUSTON – Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson today announced the results of ATF’s Gun Runner Impact Team (GRIT) initiative, a 120-day deployment of ATF resources to the Houston Field Division to disrupt illegal firearms trafficking by Mexican drug cartels.

The Justice Department officials also outlined the $10 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds that have been allocated to support the initiative going forward.    » read more »

June 5, 2009 -- Today, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske released President Obama’s strategy to stem the flow of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the Southwest border and reduce associated crime and violence in the region.    » read more »

April 28, 2009 -- The United States should forge a strategic partnership with Mexico that emphasizes reform and long-term institution building as a way to battle the ongoing drug war and other security challenges that face Mexico, according to a new RAND Corporation report.

While much attention has focused on addressing Mexico's recent drug violence, the new RAND report goes beyond the narcotics-violence link and examines a broader set of issues that confront Mexico's security and the security interests of the United States.    » read more »

March 24, 2009 -- Today, Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg and United States Deputy Attorney General David Ogden will lay out the Administration’s comprehensive response to the situation along the border with Mexico. President Obama and his Administration are focused on all aspects of the U.S. relationship with Mexico because it is vital to core U.S. national interests.    » read more »

March 24, 2009 -- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today several Southwest border initiatives designed to crack down on Mexican drug cartels through enhanced border security. The plan calls for additional personnel, increased intelligence capability and better coordination with state, local and Mexican law enforcement authorities.

“This issue requires immediate action,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We are guided by two very clear objectives. First, we are going to do everything we can to prevent the violence in Mexico from spilling over across the border. And second, we will do all in our power to help President Calderón crack down on these drug cartels in Mexico.”    » read more »

March 24, 2009 -- Mr. Gibbs: Good morning, guys. I want to discuss an issue that's very important to the President this morning -- the steps we are taking on both sides of the border, working with our Mexican partners to support the Mexican government's campaign against the violent cartels and to reduce contraband in both directions across the border.    » read more »

March 24, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Today Deputy Attorney General David Ogden announced increased efforts and reallocation of DOJ personnel to combat Mexican drug cartels in the United States and to help Mexican law enforcement battle cartels in their own country. Deputy Attorney General Ogden was joined in announcing a comprehensive response to the situation on the Southwest border by Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano and Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg.    » read more »

Offers recommendations to reduce lost revenue

January 28, 2008 – The Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) and the Michigan Authorized Alcohol Distribution Agents today issued a report that estimates that the state of Michigan loses $14 million annually due to the illegal importation of alcohol. The MLCC outlined a series of steps that should be taken to combat the state’s loss of revenue.    » read more »

Successful Interagency Maritime Interdiction Forces Smugglers to Extreme Tactics

Dec. 6, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard announced today a record year for cocaine seizures with 355,755 pounds seized, worth more than $4.7 billion.    » read more »

Record-Breaking 27 Metric Tonnes of Meat Confiscated

Oct. 11, 2007 -- Environment Canada's Wildlife Enforcement Division along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service officers have dismantled a major smuggling organization of queen conch meat, an internationally protected endangered species.    » read more »

04 October 2007 -- Concerns with smuggling and terrorism have led to heightened security along U.S borders. Mike O'Sullivan reports from Seattle.

The U.S. border with Canada, 6,400 kilometers from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, has been described as the world's longest undefended international boundary.

The U.S. southern border with Mexico has hundreds of kilometers of high fencing, with more planned, but there is little to mark parts of the U.S. northern border.

A small fence is all that separates the U.S. town of Blaine, Washington, from a Canadian highway.    » read more »

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Pat Meehan recently announced two guilty pleas in connection with an international ring that smuggled dead body parts of endangered species into the United States.1 The endangered species was the marine mammal Physeter macrocephalus , commonly known as the Sperm whale. The dead body parts were teeth, each having the shape of a cone, pointed at one end, approximately eight inches high and six inches in diameter, and weighing between one and five pounds.    » read more »