see also: in May 2008:   Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol Announces State of the Agency   CBP Celebrates Significant Occasions at Advanced Training Center in West Virginia   CBP to Issue New Frequent Traveler Cards   Ecstasy and Methamphetamine Seized at Ambassador Bridge   CBP Air and Marine Agents Interdict Migrants in Florida at the Start of Memorial Day Weekend   Border Patrol Agents Rescue 51 Illegal Aliens from Tractor Trailer ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Philadelphia — Well before NASCAR’s best drivers tear up the asphalt at the Monster Mile this weekend, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were working to ensure that spectators can watch those drivers trade paint and jostle for the checkered flag in a safe and secure environment.

CBP officers, partnering with Dover Downs International Speedway security, the Delaware State Police and the Dover Police Department, employed a mobile non-intrusive inspection (NII) system to scan 21 vendor and race car team trucks entering Dover Downs Wednesday. The NII unit is usually sited at the Wilmington Marine Terminal inspecting cargo arriving to the United States.

"Our NII technology contributes a unique capability that can act as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies securing large scale spectator events,” said Rick Sheckells, CBP port director in Wilmington, Del. “We can quickly determine if a vehicle’s contents are for legitimate event business, or tools for some nefarious purpose."

CBP has deployed mobile gamma-ray imaging systems during other large scale spectator events, most recently during Super Bowl LXII in Phoenix, Ariz., this past February.

The NII is a mobile gamma-ray imaging technology deployed at our nation’s land and sea ports of entry. They permit officers to detect and interdict contraband (such as narcotics, weapons and currency) hidden within conveyances and/or cargo while simultaneously facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. The mobile gamma-ray imaging system employs a gamma ray source that permits officers to quickly “see” inside tankers, commercial trucks, cargo containers, and other conveyances without having to physically open the conveyance and/or container.

Large-scale NII systems, as a group, have been used successfully at our ports of entry to effect 645 seizures of narcotics totaling 154,100 pounds during fiscal year 2007.

The NII can scan vehicles up to 125 feet in length in one pass. One version of the system is mounted on a truck chassis and is operated by a three-man crew. The NII operates by slowly driving past a parked vehicle with a boom extended over the target vehicle.

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.