CBP, USPS Failed to Fully Inspect Overseas Mail for Opioids: Report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the United States Postal Service (USPS) are criticized in a new report, for failing to implement a 2018 law designed to stop illegal opioids from being sent in the mail from overseas.
The report from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) found that CBP and USPS are ignoring parts of the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act. Passed in 2018, the STOP Act required foreign countries to provide “advanced electronic data” (AED) on all international packages and then required USPS and CBP to work together to share information on packages that contained potential contraband, designate them for inspection, and then actually inspect them at the nation’s nine facilities that process international mail.
While CBP made 184,000 drug seizures between Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 and FY 2022, the report found that the agencies failed on several fronts, including not validating inaccuracies in package data. Two of nine international mail facilities placed zero holds on pieces of mail. Another examined only about half of the packages that were pulled for inspection.
The report said CBP did not put anyone in charge of key implementation steps, failed to issue thorough guidance, and failed to thoroughly train employees.
The report cited CBP for giving waivers to packages from certain countries, exempting them from providing AED. With those waivers, the report said Cargo and Conveyance Security (a CBP office) did not obtain approval from the CBP Commissioner when it issued waivers exempting 148 countries in 2021 and 128 countries in 2022. In addition, CBP “did not document its justifications for excluding a country from AED requirements and did not report the justifications to congressional committees” as required by the STOP Act.
“Without effective screening and performance monitoring, CBP may increase the risk of the Department admitting dangerous goods into the United States,” the report stated.
DHS OIG Recommendations
CBP concurred with four of five OIG recommendations: assigning responsibility for implementing the STOP Act, recording enforcement actions other than seizures at international mail facilities, provide targeted training to officers working at international mail facilities, and tightening up the waiver process for an AED waiver.
CBP did not concur with a recommendation to update the International Mail Operations and Enforcement Handbook. CBP took issue with OIG recommending the agency set key performance metrics and targeting goals to assess the effectiveness of mail operations. CBP called that the recommendation a “misunderstanding of how CBP evaluates performance and effectiveness in cargo operations. Due to the dynamic targeting environment, CBP does not include performance metrics or targeting goals in enforcement handbooks.”
Progress in Stopping International Opioids
Regardless of shortcomings in implementation, the STOP Act law is having an impact. Seizures of synthetic opioids in the mail fell by 71 percent and 93 percent in 2019 and 2020. However, about 97 percent of recent intercepted opioids are now occurring in the domestic mail stream, and there is the lingering issue of fentanyl and fentanyl-related chemicals at the southwest border.
Meanwhile, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) intercepted over 4,000 pounds of synthetic opioids in FY 2023, along with more than 7,000 pounds of meth, and more than 5,000 pounds of cocaine.