Detroit - With the start of the 2010 Olympics Games just a month away, some Detroit-area federal agents are preparing to travel to help augment U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations in Bellingham, Wash. Pilots and agents from the Great Lakes Office of Air and Marine will assist with border security along the Washington-British Columbia border during the Olympics.
The mission of the CBP's Office of Air and Marine, the world's largest aviation and maritime law enforcement organization, is to protect the American people and the nation's critical infrastructure through the coordinated use of integrated air and marine forces to detect, interdict and prevent acts of terrorism and the unlawful movement of people, illegal drugs and other contraband toward or across the borders of the United States.
This specialized law enforcement capability allows CBP to make significant contributions to the Department of Homeland Security efforts as well as to those of federal, state, local and tribal agencies. To accomplish this mission, Air and Marine utilizes more than 900 federal agents operating from 79 air and marine locations, with more than 290 aircraft of 22 different types, and more than 225 maritime vessels.