The P-3 Orion Helps the Feds Seize Over 77 Tons of Illegal Drugs

The Air and Marine Operations unit of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has worked with its federal and international partners to seize 121,667 pounds of cocaine and 33,226 pounds of marijuana in international waters.

Michael Wildes

Monday, September 12, 2022 at 06:10 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operations (AMO) has significantly increased drug seizures, including cocaine, marijuana, and fentanyl, in FY2022, disrupting an estimated $2.4 billion in illegal transactions.
AMO's success is attributed to its extensive aviation and maritime law enforcement capabilities, utilizing specialized equipment like long-endurance P-3 Orion aircraft for surveillance and interdiction, and close collaboration with federal and international partners.
The agency is actively recruiting qualified pilots, referred to as Air Interdiction Agents, to meet operational demands and is offering special salary rates to address current hiring challenges.

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The Air and Marine Operations (AMO),an operational unit of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, is helping keep illegal drugs off the streets. The AMO reported at the end of August that, through just three fiscal quarters of 2022, it worked with its federal and international partners to seize 121,667 pounds of cocaine and 33,226 pounds of marijuana in international waters. That’s an estimated $2.4 billion in illegal transactions the agency said it’s blocked.

The AMO’s efforts were successful in large part because of its aviation and maritime law enforcement expertise, equipment, and intelligence. The unit has 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft, and hundreds of marine vessels that operate throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, making the AMO the largest aviation and maritime law enforcement agency.