U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers in Memphis Seize over 2,000 lbs of Drugs so far this Year

Memphis, TN – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBPOs) in Memphis have seized 2,509 lbs of drugs since the beginning of this fiscal year.

The countries of origin for most of the drugs were China, Mexico, and Brazil. Fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, ketamine, DMT, marijuana, prescription opioids, and steroids are among the contraband intercepted at the port in the express consignment environment.

In the first month of 2022, they seized nearly 1,000 lbs of drugs, and the most frequently seized were: Methamphetamine, other drugs such as DMT, tramadol, ketamine, etc., with marijuana coming in third.

Smugglers are always attempting new methods to conceal their contraband. Officers have found drugs in shoes, ceramics, within the sides of cardboard boxes, in furniture, in sealed bags of tea, chips, soups, and baked into bread, among myriad other ways. 

“Every shift, my officers and agriculture specialists are preventing shipments of dangerous narcotics, invasive pests, and other contraband from reaching their recipients in your neighborhood,” said Michael Neipert, Memphis Area Port Director. “Sending narcotics via express consignment makes the carriers unwitting transporters. When fentanyl is shipped from Mexico to Massachusetts, you are putting everyone who handles it at risk: the pilots, drivers, sorters, all the way until it reaches the doorstep of the consignee, unless, of course, we find it first.”

CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.

CBP seized an average of 4,732 pounds of dangerous drugs every day across the United States last year. Learn more about what CBP accomplished during “A Typical Day” in 2021.