The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the island, but our borders remain open and according to Customs and Quarantine Director Ike Peredo, drugs are still being smuggled into our borders through the postal system. In fact, Peredo said that just recently $2.5 million dollars worth of methamphetamine mailed through the post office has been seized.
The problem lies with mail parcels from the US. Local and federal agencies have identified some states as “source states” where the increase in mailed parcels containing methamphetamine can be seen.
“Even from the start of January this year, we’ve started seeing an increase in seizures at the post office because of our K-9 screening. And we’re looking at approximately 30 pounds that we have seized coming through the mail,” Peredo said.
If you cut the time period in half, Peredo says many of the seizures occurred between March and May.
“The most recent information that I got from ITF DEA is that a gram of ice is now $200 a gram. So you can see that it’s still up there. And we are here to make that difference. We are continuing our mandate to ensure that narcotic interdiction continues because it’s detrimental to our community,” Peredo said.
Federal and local authorities have correlated that the amount of meth on the streets directly impacts the street value of the drug.
To continue beefing up their drug interdiction efforts, Peredo says that two additional Customs Officers will be undergoing training geared towards K-9 drug interdiction.
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