SWEETGRASS, MONT.—Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the port of Sweetgrass prevented a Canadian citizen from attempting to illegally enter the United States by failing to stop for inspection on Monday, Jan. 3, 2011.
The incident occurred about 4 p.m. when a silver car approached the primary inspection area southbound from Canada but failed to stop for inspection. CBP officers at the port immediately responded to the port runner alarm, intercepted the vehicle, and apprehended the subject before he was able to leave the port of entry.
This act of port running, failing to stop for inspection, is dangerous in that it places CBP officers in danger and also creates a danger to the traveling public as the driver attempts to avoid being stopped.
"This was an excellent, cooperative effort by our officers that prevented this individual from illegally entering the U.S. and endangering lives", said Great Falls area port director Daniel Escobedo. It is the responsibility of CBP officers to ensure that all vehicles and passengers are inspected upon arrival in the United States; those individuals that attempt to avoid the inspection process will be dealt with in accordance to CBP laws and regulations,"
The subject had previously been removed from the U.S. in April 2010 for failing to stop for inspection. In 2004, the subject was found to be inadmissible to the United States and was returned to Canada.
The license plate on the vehicle the subject was driving was an NCIC hit for being stolen in Alberta, Canada. It was later discovered the license plate did not belong to the vehicle the subject was driving, but was from a vehicle that had been reported as stolen.
NCIC is an abbreviation for The National Crime Information Center, a centralized automated data base designed to share information among law enforcement agencies including outstanding warrants for a wide range of offenses. These warrants are for a wide range of offenses and include money laundering, robbery, narcotics distribution, sexual abuse of children, violation of protection orders, fraud, failure to appear, larceny and military desertion.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for 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.