see also: in 2008 Fiscal Year in Review Field News Releases:   CBP Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Achievements for Baltimore Port of Entry   CBP Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Achievements for San Diego Air and Marine Unit   CBP Border Patrol Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Achievements for El Paso Sector   CBP Border Patrol Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Achievements for Ramey Sector   CBP Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Achievements for Arizona Ports of Entry   CBP Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Achievements for Midwest Ports of Entry ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Buffalo, N.Y. - As a result of the strong Canadian dollar, fiscal year 2008 proved to be a busy one for Customs and Border Protection’s Buffalo Field Office, which encompasses all 17 international land border crossings in the State of New York, from Buffalo to Champlain and Rouses Point.

Director of Field Operations for the Buffalo Field Office James T. Engleman advised that CBP officers processed approximately 23.9 million passengers, 8.9 million autos, 1.6 million commercial trucks and 47,100 commercial buses. For the first time in two decades, the Peace Bridge border crossing in Buffalo, N.Y., became the busiest border crossing on the northern border, surpassing the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit as the busiest crossing for passenger vehicles.

CBP enforcement actions also increased throughout fiscal year. Officers arrested 215 fugitives, wanted for crimes including murder, negligent homicide, child molestation, sexual abuse of a child and rape. Our apprehensions included the arrest of two individuals wanted by INTERPOL, one for sexual abuse of a minor in Malta and the other for murder in Barbados.

CBP’s Buffalo Field Office reported the following accomplishments for FY 2008, which started on October 1, 2007 and ended September 30, 2008:

• More than 21,800 apprehensions of inadmissible travelers. Foreign nationals applying for admission to the United States can be found inadmissible for several reasons, including overstaying previous visits, using fraudulent documents, intending to immigrate illegally or being convicted of committing crimes involving moral turpitude.
• More than 65 fraudulent documents were seized.
• More than 160 travelers were intercepted while making a false claim to United States citizenship.
• CBP officers prevented the entry of 25 foreign nationals who were identified as potential threats to national security.
• CBP officers effected over 140 arrests of arriving passengers who attempted to smuggle contraband into the United States.
• CBP officers seized 2,350 pounds of hydroponic marijuana and 361 pounds of ecstasy. The ecstasy seized represents 54 percent increase over the amount seized in FY07.
• CBP officers seized nearly $730,000 of undeclared currency entering the U.S. and $278,000 in undeclared currency exiting the U.S.
• CBP officers and import specialists discovered and processed 10 Intellectual Property Rights seizures involving counterfeit goods valued at $147,000.
• CBP agriculture specialists made over 2,170 pest interceptions during FY 2008, an increase of 123 percent over FY 2007.
• In December, CBP officers seized four undeclared live pigeons that were found concealed in the liner of two traveler’s jackets. In May, officers discovered four live Asian arowana fish, commonly known as Asian dragon fish, concealed in a vehicle’s spare tire well. The Asian arowana fish are covered under the Endangered Species Act in the United States and cannot be possessed within a permit.

Locally, Buffalo Port Director Joseph J. Wilson advised that the Service Port of Buffalo, comprised of the Peace Bridge, Rainbow Bridge, Whirlpool Bridge and Lewiston Bridge, processed over 5.8 million vehicles, over one million commercial trucks and 16 million passengers. CBP officers also seized more than 525,000 tablets of ecstasy with a street value of over $10.5 million, a 55 percent increase over last fiscal year.

The Port of Buffalo opened a new NEXUS Enrollment Center in Niagara Falls, N.Y., to complement the existing Enrollment Center in Fort Erie, Ontario. To date, CBP officers have issued approximately 40,000 NEXUS cards issued by the Port of Buffalo. The Port also established a Border Wait Time Workgroup with representatives from Canada Border Services Agency, Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, Peace Bridge Authority and Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition. The workgroup was established to ensure that wait times are accurately captured and consistently reported.

Alexandria Bay Port Director Alan Whitcomb advised that the Area Port of Alexandria Bay, which also includes the Massena and Ogdensburg border crossings, processed over 1.9 million passenger vehicles, 295,000 commercial trucks and 4.6 million passengers last year. Officers in Alexandria Bay also seized more than 215 pounds of hydroponic marijuana, which represents a significant increase from last fiscal year.

The Area Port of Alexandria Bay continues to be a very active and productive member of the Thousand Islands and Cornwall Integrated Border Enforcement Team. IBET is a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency intelligence driven/intelligence led enforcement team whos mission is to enhance border integrity and security at the border.

The Small Boat Center in the Port of Ogdensburg has made significant improvements providing inspectional processes for all small private boaters in the Eastern Great Lakes Waterways.

The Port of Massena will be moving into their new cargo and passenger processing facilities in the spring of 2009. The busy new facility will increase the number of passenger car lanes from four to six and will increase the number of commercial processing lanes from one to three, greatly increasing our ability to process arriving automobiles and trucks. Also, the Port of Alexandria Bay will be doubling the queuing capacity on the roadway leading into the port of entry with a roadway expansion project to better manage traffic during busy periods.

Acting Champlain Port Director Steven Bronson advised that the Service Port of Champlain, which includes the ten border crossings from Ft. Covington to Rouses Point, processed 1,086,440 vehicles, 357,662 commercial vehicles and 3,601,499 passengers last year. Officers in also seized more than 307 pounds of hydroponic marijuana, which represents a 372 percent increase from last fiscal year.

The final stages of the new Champlain port of entry construction project is nearing completion, with the majority of the work being completed in FY 2008. Three includes the reconstruction of the passenger processing facility, where both passenger vehicles and buses are processed.

A new centralized pleasure boat clearance facility at Rouses Point, N.Y., was launched. During the boating season, the facility is staffed by Customs and Border Protection officers from Champlain, N.Y., and provides a single location that boaters can report for inspection. This newly established location has improved security and the inspectional process for the boating community.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.