DETROIT- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport recently acquired additional new technology with the ability to sample and identify over 14,000 chemical substances. CBP continues to employ innovative methods and tools to detect, intercept and prevent dangerous drugs from entering the United States while also keeping frontline officers safe.
analysis tool
CBP officers at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport recently received specialized training on a new handheld elemental isotype analysis tool called the Gemini ® that can identify hazardous chemicals and drugs coming into the United States via express consignment shipments and other means of transportation.
“Our officers now have the ability to safely sample unknown substances in real time, and get instant results. This in turn saves time while protecting our officers and the general public from potentially hazardous materials,” said CBP Port Director Devin Chamberlain. “We are dedicated to combating the threat that fentanyl and other dangerous drugs pose to our nation.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths and opioid-involved deaths continue to increase in the United States. The majority of drug overdose deaths involve an opioid. In 2016, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids (including prescription opioids and heroin) was 5 times higher than in 1999. From 2000 to 2016, more than 600,000 people died from drug overdoses. On average, according to the CDC, 115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.