Border Drug Seizures Setting a Record Pace

SAN DIEGO —  Following a nationwide trend, drug seizures along the California-Mexico border are running at a record-breaking pace this year, the U.S. Customs Service announced Thursday.

Nearly 38,000 pounds of marijuana was seized by customs inspectors at the San Diego sector’s five ports of entry from Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year, to March 31, a 60% increase over the same period last year, customs officials said.

Heroin seizures more than doubled, from 4.5 pounds to 10.1 pounds.

The amount of cocaine discovered by inspectors decreased, falling from 9,306 pounds to 5,221 pounds, said officials, who explained the drop as an aberration. Last year’s record figures included a single 8,700-pound cocaine bust at Otay Mesa, the largest cocaine seizure ever made at an inland border port of entry.

“Without a doubt, this will be a record year,” said Rudy Camacho, director for the San Diego district of the Customs Service.

Camacho attributed the increases in part to stepped-up drug interdiction efforts, including the addition of 128 customs inspectors in the San Diego district in the last 10 months.

The San Diego district also has 336 drug-sniffing dogs, more than three times the number it had five years ago.

Some observers said that despite the seizures and the attention drawn to them by the federal government, increasing amounts of illicit drugs continue to make their way across the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The Customs Service hardly dents the amount of contraband coming into the United States, and too many people are suffering . . . for the government to get such a small amount of drugs,” said Michael Pancer, a San Diego attorney who believes federal money would be better spent on drug treatment and education programs.

Seizures of cocaine across the country by the Customs Service are occurring at a rate that would more than double last year’s record 169,586 pounds, according to an internal report describing seizures from Oct. 1 through the end of February.

The nationwide rise in cocaine busts coincides with record production in coca-growing nations during 1991, despite American-backed efforts, officials said. Meanwhile, federal studies have shown a decline in casual cocaine usage in the United States.

Customs agents are also looking at a surge of heroin seizures this year nationwide, with 58% more pounds of the narcotic confiscated so far this fiscal year over last, the report showed. Last year’s 2,960 pounds seized was a five-year high. Marijuana seizures by customs agents are also on the rise this fiscal year, the second consecutive increase after at least four years of decline, the report said.

Drug Pipeline The quantity of drugs being seized by the U.S. Customs Service nationwide has risen greatly since the last fiscal year. These figures, which are given in pounds, cover Oct. 1 through February. Fiscal year to date

1991 1992 % increase Heroin 574.1 904.9 57.6% Cocaine 63,127.9 142,018.9 125.0% Marijuana 169,209.0 207,194.5 22.4%

The figures also rose in the San Diego sector. These figures cover Oct. 1 through March 31. Fiscal year to date

1991 1992 % increase Heroin 4.5 10.1 124.4% Cocaine 9,306* 5,221 -43.9% Marijuana 23,573 37,980 61.1%

*One drug seizure in 1991 recovered 8,700 pounds of cocaine, the largest ever at a roadside port of entry. Omitting that incident, the amount is up 761.6%. Source: U.S. Customs