Border meth seizures double in May

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Border agents and officers seized a little over 10 tons of methamphetamine in May, more than doubling April’s catch of a powerful and highly addictive illegal stimulant blamed for 37,021 overdose deaths last year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data released Thursday shows the amount of meth seized along the Southwest border in the first eight months of fiscal year 2024 almost equals what was seized in all of FY 2023 (114,000 pounds vs. 121,000 pounds).

This, as the amount of fentanyl seized at the border is trending down from the FY 2023 record of 27,023 pounds to the fiscal-year-to-date 13,768 pounds seized.

The number of individual seizure events is trending down from last year, which means law enforcement is finding greater quantities per bust.

One example is the May 20 seizure of 500 pounds of meth concealed in a flatbed trailer being pulled through the Calexico East commercial port of entry. Another involved 11,469 pounds worth an estimated $18 million concealed in a shipment of squash the same day at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility.

The San Diego Field Office of CBP led the nation with 8.2 tons seized between May 1 and May 31.

San Diego is just north of the border from Baja California, one of the Mexican bastions of the Sinaloa cartel.

“Methamphetamine made by the Sinaloa cartel is directly contributing to the steep increase in meth-related poisoning deaths in the United States, which rank second only to deaths caused by fentanyl,” according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment released May 24.

That’s because the meth being churned now in Sinaloa cartel labs is “purer and more potent” than at any time in the past, according to the report.

Cost is another factor in the growing popularity of meth, per the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Their June 2024 report says one study revealed the average price of illegal methamphetamine on the street runs between $20 and $30.

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