SAN DIEGO (CN) — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced a new joint law enforcement operation Thursday to stem the rise of drug overdose deaths by thwarting the production, distribution and trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.
Called Operation Apollo, the new task force is described in a statement as a “Southern California counter-fentanyl joint operation with a focus on intelligence collection,” composed of state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies along with the CBP, which will collect intelligence and target trafficking of synthetic opioids into the country. The agencies will share intelligence on drug trafficking at every level of the supply chain, from catching traffickers shipping and receiving chemicals used to make fentanyl and other opioids, to people actually moving the finished products to consumers.
“As synthetic drugs continue to devastate individuals across the United States, the operation will also look to uncover and better understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures utilized by transnational criminal organizations to procure, produce, store, and transport fentanyl and fentanyl-related materials throughout the country,” the agency said in its statement.
Customs and Border Protection did not explicitly name the law enforcement agencies participating in Operation Apollo. It does mention that the operation will involve initial target areas and fusion centers in San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties, and various federal law enforcement agencies.
None of the prospective agencies involved responded to requests for comment on the operation.
In June, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study that found that in 2022, 68% of the 107,081 reported drug overdose deaths in the U.S. involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl illicitly manufactured with xylazine, a sedative not made of human use.
In 2020, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported that both fentanyl production and collection of the precursor chemicals needed to produce the drug are primarily done in China, with help from chemicals sourced from India, and then shipped by international mail to Mexico and to a lesser extend Canada, where it’s either processed into fentanyl or brought as a finished product into the U.S.
Some of the precursor chemicals are used for legitimate and legal purposes, which makes it difficult to track the purpose of each shipment of them through international mail, Customs and Border Protection said.
“By targeting suspicious locations and recipients that demonstrate patterns of illicit activity, CBP can disrupt the supply chain of illicit fentanyl and its analogues, methamphetamine, and other synthetic drugs,” the agency said in its statement.
Operation Apollo is a part of President Joe Bien’s broader National Drug Control Strategy and the administration’s Unity Agenda, which is meant to be a set of four policy areas that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on, like improving cancer research and treatment, taking care of veterans, tackling the county’s mental health crisis, and taking on the opioid and drug overdose epidemic.
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