Sitting on a large stockpile of synthetic product, the Mexican drug cartels have no shortage of narcotics to send to the United States.

But international travel restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have greatly reduced traffic at ports of entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers who previously could perform comprehensive inspections only on a fraction of vehicles now have more time to look for drugs.

This is leading to large seizures and forcing drug trafficking organizations to revert to old tactics — like sending drug mules across the desert or have them swim past the Rio Grande, law-enforcement experts say.

“They’re still getting narcotics at the ports of entry, but what’s interesting is that Border Patrol is seeing more seizures between ports in some places where they had a downward slide for the past several years,” said Victor M. Manjarrez, a former U.S. Border Patrol chief in Tucson and El Paso.

Cont'd:
https://www.borderreport.com/regions/texas/cbp-gets-upper-hand-on-cartels-as-traffic-dips-at-ports-of-entry-amid-covid-19-restrictions/