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   CBP Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Achievements for Buffalo Area Ports of Entry ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

San Diego — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting security operations at California’s ports of entry with Mexico performed almost 74 million inspections of travelers, seized over 240,000 pounds of illegal narcotics and apprehended over 47,000 immigration violators during federal fiscal year 2008, officials announced today.

CBP’s field office in San Diego manages the work of almost 1,500 front-line federal officers at passenger vehicle and cargo truck border stations at San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Calexico, Andrade and the San Diego air and sea ports of entry.

During the fiscal year, which ended September 30, CBP officers at ports in San Diego and Imperial counties inspected almost 29 million passenger vehicles, 1.2 million trucks, 146,000 buses and 16.3 million pedestrians entering the U.S. The number of passenger vehicles inspected decreased 8.9 percent over the previous year while the number of commercial trucks processed increased 6 percent. Trusted travelers enrolled in the Secure Electronic Network for Traveler’s Rapid Inspection fast-pass program increased 32 percent to over 122,000 and the number of entries using SENTRI lanes at select ports increased more than 10 percent to 5.3 million.

CBP officers at commercial cargo facilities at Otay Mesa, Tecate and Calexico processed over 1.2 million cargo trucks during the fiscal year, up 6 percent over the previous year. The number of truck entries by trusted drivers participating in the Free and Secure Trade program increased 81 percent to 88,477. The number of truck drivers approved to participate in the FAST program increased almost 12 percent to 3,208.

The total amount of narcotics seized during the year at California’s six ports of entry with Mexico increased 5 percent compared to the previous period. Marijuana seizures increased 5 percent to 228,927 pounds; cocaine seizures increased 1 percent to 9,106 pounds; heroin seizures increased 41 percent to 409 pounds; and methamphetamine confiscations decreased 11 percent to 2,029 pounds.

The focused enforcement efforts by California’s border ports accounted for 40 percent of the marijuana, 23 percent of the cocaine, 22 percent of the heroin and 67 percent of the methamphetamine seized at ports of entry nationwide.

Seizures of unreported currency entering the U.S. last fiscal year increased 205 percent to $1,008,698 and confiscations of unreported currency departing the country grew 154 percent to $702,154.

Of the 47 million aliens inspected during fiscal year 2008, 47,170 were found to be inadmissible, down 5 percent from the previous year. Criminal aliens processed at San Diego and Imperial county ports during the year decreased 13 percent to 1,931, officials said.

The apprehension of individuals with outstanding felony warrants for such crimes as homicide, robbery and assault by local, state or national police agencies increased over 4 percent to 1,996 compared to 1,919 arrests during the same period last year. Officials cited as reasons for the change good basic police work and increased use at the ports of document scanning and fingerprint technology that compares traveler information against various law enforcement databases.

Interceptions of reportable or actionable agricultural pests increased 45 percent to 11,014 while the number of quarantine material interceptions decreased 10 percent to 95,395. CBP officials credit the change to increasing effectiveness in recognizing and preventing the accidental or intentional introduction into California of potentially injurious pests. They also cited effective partnerships and information sharing with such agencies as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the San Diego County agriculture offices.

California’s border stations led the nation during FY 2008 with the interception and seizure from travelers of live birds that might harbor various exotic bird diseases. Of the 449 live birds intercepted from travelers entering ports of entry throughout the U.S., over 42 percent were discovered at California border stations. Most of the birds seized were chickens, parrots, parakeets, or fighting roosters, among others, that are capable of spreading such diseases as Exotic Newcastle Disease which can devastate the American poultry industry.

During the year, the San Diego field office worked closely with the U.S. Government Services Administration to plan the redesign of the San Ysidro and Calexico ports of entry. Both aging facilities need significant reconstruction to update them for their 21st Century mission, officials said. The $560 million capital improvement project at San Ysidro will begin during FY 2009 until completion in 2014.

The Otay Mesa commercial port opened two additional cargo lanes during the year resulting in a 38 percent reduction in wait times for regular laden trucks and a 31 percent reduction for trucks participating in the Free and Secure Trade fast-pass program. The Otay Mesa truck facility was the second busiest commercial facility on the Southwest border during FY 2008.

California border ports began the updating process during the year toward implementing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative that requires all persons entering the nation, including U.S. citizens, to present secure travel documents. Planning for deployment of special computer software and equipment that will sense an RFID chip implanted within WHTI compliant documents began during the year. California’s border ports all will have the necessary technology in operation when WHTI is implemented in June, 2009.

Operations at the Tecate border station were substantially impacted by the San Diego wild fires that occurred early in the fiscal year, necessitating the port’s temporary closure and dispersal for safety of port employees. Coordination of traveler, border security and employee support issues were handled at a command center established at the San Ysidro port. The Tecate facility suffered no fire damage and quickly reopened after the fires once roadways were inspected and improved.

“CBP officers and agriculture specialists whose priority mission it is to detect possible terrorists or terrorist weapons continue to produce benefits in terms of narcotics seizures, apprehension of immigration violators and wanted individuals, and the detection of pests and diseases,” said Gurdit Dhillon, field operations director for CBP in San Diego. “Our challenge continues to be to better facilitate the efficient processing of legitimate vehicle, pedestrian and cargo traffic to minimize any delays while ensuring strong border security. We are working hard to expand our trusted traveler programs, use of technology and layered enforcement strategies to minimize these delays.”

Narcotic	Fiscal Year 2007	Fiscal Year 2008	% Change
Marijuana	217,391	228,927	5
Cocaine	8,981	9,106	1
Methamphetamine	2,286	2,029	-11
Heroin	290	409	41
Total	228,948	240,471	5

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.