Operation Blue Lotus is off to a strong start. The mission, launched on March 13 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and led by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is intended to boost the fight against drug trafficking. In its first days, this operation has prevented more than 900 pounds of fentanyl, over 700 pounds of methamphetamine and upwards of 100 pounds of cocaine from entering the United States.
NEW: Led by @CBP and @HSI_HQ, working alongside federal, state, tribal and local partners, DHS’s new Operation Blue Lotus stopped more than 900 pounds of fentanyl from coming into the U.S. in its first week. pic.twitter.com/515dpHduDb
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 22, 2023
Specifically, 18 seizures took place at several border crossings and ports, resulting in 16 federal and 2 state arrests. Federal officials involved in Operation Blue Lotus are working in tandem with personnel from various state and local agencies to make their anti-drug trafficking efforts more effective.
"Combating the scourge of fentanyl."
This operation includes inspections with the best technological advances to counteract the threats posed by drug trafficking. Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS Secretary, detailed the objective of this mission:
This Administration has a multi-pronged strategy to combat the scourge of fentanyl that is devastating communities across the United States, and the Department of Homeland Security works every day to prevent it from coming across our border. In the past two years, DHS has seized more fentanyl than the previous five years combined. But we must do more. Operation Blue Lotus is a DHS-led, coordinated surge effort to curtail the flow of illicit fentanyl smuggled into the United States from Mexico and bring to justice the dangerous criminal organizations profiting from the illegal production, distribution, and sale of this dangerous substance.
For his part, Troy Miller, acting commissioner of CBP, explained the federal agency's role in Operation Blue Lotus:
CBP is on the frontline of stopping fentanyl and other illegal narcotics that are primarily trafficked through Ports of Entry. Our dedicated personnel are already seizing record amounts of fentanyl, and we continue to make the interdiction of cross border smuggling one of our top priorities.
208,000 pounds of drugs seized at border in first five months of FY2023
In the first five months of this fiscal year -from October 1, 2022, through February 28, 2023- CBP seized appriximately 208,000 pounds of drugs at the border. Specifically, some 60,000 pounds of methamphetamine, 55,000 pounds of marijuana, just over 21,000 pounds of cocaine, 11,000 pounds of fentanyl and 751 pounds of heroin were seized.
Figures that are much lower than what was seized at this point during the fiscal 2022 period in which, 294,900 pounds of drugs were seized from October 2021 to February 2022.
During the first five months of FY23, Border Patrol agents and CBP officers seized more than 208,000lbs of narcotics nationwide, including over 59,000lbs of methamphetamine.
Find additional statistics on our website: https://t.co/AfVqZkcwar pic.twitter.com/wBzpyvKgqx
— CBP Troy Miller (@CBPTroyMiller) March 20, 2023
