ATLANTA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees from the Atlanta Field Office, Office of Field Operations report a successful fiscal year in 2020. The Atlanta Field Office, which covers 16 ports of entry in Georgia, North, South Carolina and Virginia, affected 120 narcotic seizures, made 159 arrests, and prevented over 1500 inadmissible aliens from coming into the U.S. by way of airports.
International travelers.
During the fiscal year, which ended September 30, Atlanta area CBP officers apprehended 159 individuals entering or departing the U.S. with outstanding felony warrants compared to 240 arrested during the same period last year. These apprehensions of wanted individuals are accomplished via the National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, often called the lifeline of law enforcement.
The 120 drug seizures conducted by CBP officers across the Southeast included the interception of 20 pounds of cocaine smuggled by arriving International travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
At Seaports, CBP officer’s prevented 77 stolen vehicles with estimated value of $3,560,958.00 from being exported to countries such as Ghana, Iraq, Libya and Jordan. In July, Savannah officers reported several stolen vehicle seizures, which included a Land Rover, Rolls Royce and other luxury vehicles. The recovered vehicles came from Florida, Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina and Georgia.
Atlanta Field Office CBP agriculture specialists performed approximately 5,700 agricultural interceptions in fiscal year 2020. These inspections at air and seaport ports of entry resulted in the seizures of prohibited plant materials, meat, or animal products that did not meet the U.S. entry requirements.
“Despite an ongoing health pandemic, the results should be credited to the men and women serving on the front lines at our ports of entry,” said Donald F. Yando, Atlanta CBP Director of Field Operations. “Their daily efforts secure our nation’s borders while facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and trade.”
CBP’s Atlanta Field Office includes Norfolk, Virginia, Charlotte, Raleigh and Wilmington, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, Brunswick, Savannah and Atlanta Georgia ports of entry.
This Southeast area enforcement effort is possible through collaborative operations and partnerships with other Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, which have become an integral part of CBP’s procedures, in order to manage illicit activity throughout the region.
CBP conducts operations at ports of entry throughout the United States, and regularly screens arriving international passengers and cargo for narcotics, weapons, and other restricted or prohibited products. CBP strives to serve as the premier law enforcement agency enhancing the Nation’s safety, security, and prosperity through collaboration, innovation, and integration.