HOUSTON, Texas — In an effort to curb drug smuggling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Laredo Sector recently announced a new method for citizens to anonymously report suspicious activity.
Members of the public who witness or learn about smuggling-related activity are being encouraged to email ReportSmuggling@cbp.dhs.gov. Community members are also encouraged to use the new reporting method when they have information relating to “weapons, currency, people or about acts of commercial fraud,” according to a CBP press release.
Anyone who sends an email reporting activity will remain anonymous.
While there is no reward for reporting suspicious activity, officials are confident that citizens will be incentivized to utilize the reporting system to help keep their communities safe. Tips from the public can help authorities dismantle cartels and stop large drug transactions.
The Laredo Field Office’s Director of Operations, David Higgerson, said in a statement, “South Texas community members have seen first-hand the effects of drug- and alien-smuggling and what it does to our neighborhoods, and by utilizing this new Internet-based reporting tool…they can serve as our eyes and ears and help make a difference toward shutting these organizations down.”
According to CBP, the Laredo Field Office uses various resources–both on the local and federal level–to dismantle criminal organizations.
The Laredo Sector borders Texas’ Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector, where the current border crisis–involving tens of thousands of Central American illegal immigrants–is occurring. The Laredo Sector is relatively wide open, despite the fact that extra law enforcement was sent to the RGV Sector to deal with the crisis.
Many have speculated that Mexican cartels and drug smugglers are having a field day since the border porous in sectors other than the RGV.
In July, Breitbart Texas took grassroots leaders from across the state on a border tour, as to witness firsthand how unsecured the border is. The group visited both the RGV and Laredo Sectors, as to show the stark contrast in law enforcement presence in both areas.
Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby said, “The federal government, the State of Texas, and the media have presented a picture that the increase in security in the Rio Grande Valley sector is somehow representative of an increase in security along all of Texas’ border with Mexico. The Laredo sector is the next sector over and it is largely wide open. We wanted grassroots leaders to witness for themselves what the reality is and we wanted them to feel what the often solo agents feel out there along the river.”
Follow Kristin Tate @KristinBTate.
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