Throughout Fiscal Year 2020, Breitbart Texas extensively tracked the record-setting Mexican cartel methamphetamine and fentanyl seizures intended to reach into the U.S. One question that remains difficult to answer is the amount of illicit narcotics that were successfully smuggled. One benchmark for law enforcement agencies is seizure data of bulk currency normally traveling south.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 2019 assessment, drug sales account for tens of billions of dollars in illicit proceeds annually in the United States. The cash-intensive nature requires that all criminal groups involved in the supply lines use bulk cash smuggling. It remains one of the preferred methods to move and launder illicit proceeds.
By monitoring the drug seizures that go north and the bulk cash destined south, the CBP can track trend changes monthly and understand the level of success the Mexican cartels and independent groups are enjoying.
This is where analyzing CBP currency data in FY2020 indicate that sales of narcotics are skyrocketing. At ports of entry, CBP seized $93,302,645 — shattering records for the last five years.
The U.S. Border Patrol separately seized more than $8.7 million between ports of entry.
Inland Border Patrol checkpoints caught $2.1 million.
In FY2020, large bulk cash seizures spiked across all three areas of CBP enforcement efforts. Given the data, and with one month left in the fiscal year, these numbers will only increase.
Jaeson Jones is a retired Captain from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division and a Breitbart Texas contributor. While on duty, he managed daily operations for the Texas Rangers Border Security Operations Center
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