Today, the Department of the Treasury sanctioned the leaders of La Linea, a violent Mexican drug cartel responsible for trafficking fentanyl and other drugs to the United States. The designations are just the latest example of how the US government is trying to grapple with the fentanyl epidemic, which has become one of the top national security threats to the United States. It is one of the leading causes of death among young and middle-aged Americans, having killed nearly 75,000 Americans in 2023.
Financial partnerships between Chinese money laundering organizations (CMLO) and Mexican cartels have made it more challenging for US law enforcement agencies to track the movements of drug money. Financial sanctions have so far proven an effective tool in reducing the growth in crypto-denominated fentanyl sales and should be used more frequently by the US government to tactically disrupt the trade of fentanyl and other illicit drugs.
Contrary to popular belief, good things do not always come in small packages. In fiscal year 2023, 85% of the shipments U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized for health and safety violations were small packages. The packages contained dangerous materials that could cause serious harm to American consumers and the U.S. economy. Propelled by online shopping, duty-free de minimis shipmentsโpackages with an aggregate value of $800 or lessโare skyrocketing and putting consumers at risk.
Currently, de minimis shipments account for 92% of all cargo entering the U.S. and that figure is growing in epic proportions. CBP processes approximately 4 million de minimis shipments a day, up from 2.8 million last year. Bad actors are exploiting this explosion in volume to traffic counterfeits, dangerous narcotics, and other illicit goods including precursor chemicals and materials such as pill presses and die molds used to manufacture fentanyl and other synthetic drugs that are killing Americans.
The majority of the more than 1 billion de minimis shipments CBP processed last year were in the air environment. Roughly 800 million, or 88%, of these shipments arrived through international mail; express courier services such as UPS, DHL, and FedEx; or were transported as cargo on commercial airline flights. At John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York where 25% of all de minimis shipments are processed, the volume is staggering. โOn any given day, we could receive and process 750,000 to a million de minimis shipments,โ said Andrew Renna, Assistant Port Director for Cargo Operations at JFK Airport. Along with four express courier facilities, the airport houses the countryโs largest by volume international mail facility where 60% of international mail arrives in the U.S. โWe have limited resources,โ said Renna. โWe only have X number of staff. There is no physical way if I doubled or even tripled my staffing that I could look at a significant percentage of that. So due to the volume, itโs a very exploitable mode of entry into the U.S.โ
โDe minimis,โ a Latin expression that means trivial or so minor that something can be disregarded, is anything but in the trade realm. Bad actors employ a number of techniques to smuggle items or evade paying duties. Undervaluation of goods, misclassification of merchandise, inaccurate or vague cargo descriptions, and describing products as something innocuous when, in fact, theyโre harmful are just a few of the tactics.
โWeโve encountered shipments that have been declared as footwear and jackets, but found smuggled beef, pork, and poultry animal products instead,โ said Renna. โThe products are prohibited in the United States because of the risk of foreign animal disease. Should an animal disease outbreak occur in the United States, it could have significant impact on the U.S. economy and the world economy. Any disruption to the food supply chain causes economic harm,โ said Renna. โJust this year so far at JFK, we have seized over 33,000 pounds of prohibited animal products in the de minimis environment. Many of the countries that weโve seized this from are affected by African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, and avian influenza or bird flu. The beef, pork, and poultry industries are collectively worth over $200 billion annually in the U.S. and they support millions of jobs. So in just this one area, where de minimis is being exploited, itโs harmful to our domestic agriculture supply.โ
The opioid crisis has ravaged communities and families across the Carolinas. Watch this Queen City News special report on fentanyl in the Carolinas on YouTube.
Barb Walsh, Executive Director, 919-614-3830 barb@fentvic.org. website:ย ย www.fentvic.org Fentanyl Victims Network of NC (fentvic.org), 501(c)(3) EIN 88-3921380ย
Local Coordinator:ย ย Beth Abernathy, 704-699-5291,ย abernathye@gmail.com Chapter Director, Forgotten Victims of North Carolina
Purpose
Prevention, Education, Naloxone Distribution, SAVE LIVES!
NC Fentanyl Victim Families educational advocacy and networking event
Spark public safety conversations within communities about the dangers of illicit fentanyl, particularly counterfeit pressed pills (Adderall, Xanax, Percocet),ย and access to life-saving naloxone in schools and the community
Authorities mistook man with same last name as supplier, but never followed up after their error
A Candler womanโs overdose death three years ago led investigators to a North Carolina dealer peddling illegal drugs through the mail to addicts nationwide.
But the Buncombe County Sheriffโs Office investigated the wrong man and failed to pursue leads that could have put James Adam Earwood out of business, according to federal court testimony. Seven months later, in December 2021, an Iowa man died from fentanyl and heroin he bought from Earwood, who boasted of his โfirst confirmed killโ as evidence of his drugsโ potency.
Earwood of Rutherfordton had been identified as a likely supplier of the fentanyl that killed Rachel Scillitani, 29, in her Candler apartment in May 2021. But Buncombe sheriffโs detectives interviewed and cleared another man with the same last name, Special Agent Bryce Husak of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service testified at an April federal court hearing.
โIt is your testimony today that they were actually investigating the wrong Adam Earwood?โ a prosecutor asked.
โCorrect,โ Husak responded.
There was no follow-up investigation of the right Earwood or effort to determine his whereabouts around the time Scillitani bought the fentanyl and died, nor were records on a payment app she used to buy drugs subpoenaed, the agent testified.
BEAUFORT COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) โ Students in Beaufort County Schools were welcomed back this week with help from the sheriffโs office.
Deputies served as School Resource Officers throughout schools in the district. Theyโre replacing a third party police force used for the past three years.
There are 13 deputies, meaning each school in the district gets one. On the first day of school, SROs were seen greeting students at car rider lines, giving them high fives and tying their shoes in the hallways.
Having the local sheriffโs office provide school security has been a work in progress since winter.
โTo be honest, thereโs nothing better than your local sheriffโs department being able to provide school resource officers into our schools each and every day,โ Beaufort County Schools Superintendent Dr. Matthew Cheeseman said. โAnd through that, youโll see them out at our athletic contests, extracurricular activities and so letโs celebrate them as they celebrate and protect our students and staff. Perfect.โ
In order to become a SRO, a 40-hour SRO certification programs has to be completed. During that training, school security is practiced in addition to courses on ethics and leadership.
Each SRO is a sworn police officer and is armed. Theyโll be making sure buildings are secure, alarm systems are working, doors are not propped and students and staff feel safe.
Naloxone is now widely carried by first responders and police. Distribution efforts have also helped make the medication available to community partners.
Naloxone has quickly become a central part of harm reduction efforts nationally and within North Carolina.
Naloxone is now widely carried by first responders and police. Distribution efforts have also helped make the medication available to community partners.
โHarm reduction is the first line of defense we have. It is the on the ground, in the community response. It is by people with lived experience for people with lived experience,โ shared Elyse Powell, executive director of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition.
Efforts to bring naloxone into school systems are also expanding, including in Wake County Schools. School officials tell WRAL News training efforts are underway to prepare for the distribution of the medication to schools this year.
Lindsey Humphreys has been recovering from opioid addiction for the last five years, she said.
Sheโs known people in Wake County who have died from opioids because they didnโt have access to naloxone, a life-saving drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdose.
โI decided to be part of the solution and just started to distribute this,โ she said. โI have been doing it for the last couple of years in the memory of some of my friends who passed.โ
Humphreys is the executive director of Illuminate NC, an organization that helps distribute naloxone in Wake and Vance counties. Illuminate distributes about 300 naloxone units a month, she said.
August 21st marks National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Dayโข, a solemn occasion dedicated to honoring the memory of those who have fallen victim to illicit fentanyl poisoning. It serves as a poignant reminder of the profound devastation inflicted upon countless families and friends affected by this perilous drug. This day stands as a unified effort among fentanyl awareness organizations, impacted families, and individuals sharing their lived experiences to collectively warn and inform our youth, the public, and the unsuspecting.
This nationwide initiative urges all Americans to unite in the cause. Federal, state, and local agencies are called to participate actively, contributing to the vital mission of saving lives through heightened prevention and awareness efforts. Hosting community events dedicated to National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day and disseminating resources on fentanyl and other hazardous substances can prove instrumental in safeguarding lives.
The gravity of the situation cannot be overstated. Fentanyl represents the gravest drug threat our nation has ever faced, propagated by transnational criminals. Alarmingly, an American succumbs to a drug-related death every five minutes, with children under 14 bearing a disproportionate burden of fatalities from fentanyl poisoning. Exploiting social media platforms, distributors are making access to dangerous drugs alarmingly easy for our youth. Thus, comprehensive prevention education is imperative to stem the tide of this crisis.
It is incumbent upon us all to be well-informed about the perils of illicit fentanyl. By collectively spreading awareness about its dangers, we can shield families from the anguish of fentanyl-related tragedies. Let us join forces to educate, advocate, and protect our communities, fostering a culture of health, productivity, and drug-free living.