Mexican cartels exploiting border chaos to smuggle fentanyl into US
By Isabel Vincent
June 10, 2022 3:53pm Updated
OUR HOUR THERE IN SEATTLE.
Americans impacted by drug crisis sound alarm on growing fentanyl trend
Mexican drug cartels are taking advantage of the chaotic influx of migrants at the US southern border to smuggle thousands of pounds of deadly fentanyl into the country, experts say.
“Border patrol agents are too busy dealing with the influx of migrants, and are not really focused on looking for fentanyl,” Robert Almonte, a Texas-based security consultant and former deputy chief of the El Paso Police Department, told The Post. “Border agents are not getting the support they need from the federal government to stop the flow of fentanyl, which is killing thousands of Americans.”
More than 90 percent of the 10,000 pounds of fentanyl seized in fiscal 2021 occurred at legal border entry points in California and Arizona –—areas where roughly 30 percent of migrants are entering the US, according to CBP statistics.
Meanwhile, In areas like New Mexico and Texas, where border agents are overwhelmed with nearly 70 percent of migrant entries, there have been fewer seizures — less than 5 percent — of the deadly synthetic opioid, experts told The Post.
The US border with Mexico, at 1,900 miles, is targeted by drug traffickers, who are flooding the country with fentanyl, leading to nearly 108,000 overdose deaths last year.
https://nypost.com/2022/06/10/cartels-exploiting-border-chaos-to-smuggle-fentanyl-into-us/
