Like methamphetamine, heroin is seized in large amounts at the busy U.S. Customs and Border Protection ports of entry rather than at U.S. Border Patrol stations.
And, like meth, the amount seized is rising.
Between 2005 and 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 7,400 pounds of heroin at ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border. The yearly haul in 2011 was nearly six times that of 2005. Border Patrol stations seized an additional 1,400 pounds of heroin, spread fairly evenly across the border region.
While that’s a lot of heroin, it’s nothing when you look at marijuana seizures.
But heroin in Mexico is causing the U.S. government to pay attention. In its 2011 National Drug Threat Assessment, the U.S. Justice Department said, “The level of illicit poppy cultivation in Mexico was second only to that in Afghanistan in 2009, potentially producing an estimated 50 metric tons of heroin.”
As with meth, Mexico is ramping up its opium production, making the supply more available in the United States.
In fall 2011, a 17-month investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona led to a three-part mega-bust that resulted the arrest of 76 suspected smugglers and seizure of more than 61,000 pounds of pot, about 160 pounds of heroin and about 210 pounds of cocaine. You can watch how the epic operation went down, thanks to the agencies’ handy supply of media b-roll.
Notable port regions for heroin seizures in 2011:
- San Diego: 3,516.6 pounds
- Tucson, Ariz.: 1,492.72 pounds
- Laredo, Texas: 1,998.49 pounds
For more information, check out our map of border drug seizures and user guide for more information.
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