A newly formed Detroit Metro Global Trade Task Force (GTTF) is off to a flying start.
U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) is reporting that over $1.1 million in narcotics and counterfeit goods have been seized during the first week of Operation Alliance. It's a multi-agency effort that rigorously controls imports and exports and has investigative powers to combat illicit commercial activity, like drug trafficking.
The weeklong enforcement at the Detroit Metro Airport and Port Huron Blue Water Bridge seized counterfeit prescription drugs, which included, counterfeit Xanax pills and Botox, counterfeit Transceiver Network Modules, counterfeit e-cigarettes, counterfeit Rolexes and iPhones, among other items.
Homeland Security Detroit Special Agent in Charge Steve Francis called the task force a vital next step in fighting threats to commerce and national security and hopes it serves as a national model.
“With the launch of the GTTF, we are combining a wide array of capabilities that enable us to combat this global problem in a more streamlined manner,” said Francis. “I look forward to seeing the significant results the task force will no doubt achieve, and hope it will serve as a model for how the agency approaches counterfeit and counterproliferation investigations going forward.”
The new task force combines investigative, interceptive, regulatory, and licencing capabilities from several agencies, including Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
"This joint collaborative task force is a force multiplier for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to mitigate illicit attempts by smugglers to use inbound and outbound commercial shipments for their nefarious operations,” said Christopher Perry, director of field operations. “Exploiting the commercial cargo environment will not be tolerated and this task force will no doubt aide our border security mission.”
The GTTF's primary mission is to counter the trafficking of counterfeit, substandard, or tainted merchandise, with an emphasis on goods that pose a threat to public health or safety, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, automotive, aerospace, rail, and heavy industry products, along with environmental crimes.
Fraud schemes that take away revenue from the United States government or which harm businesses, rights holders, or undermine financial institutions are also on their radar.
They also keep an eye out for the illegal export of United States military products, sensitive dual-use technology, weapons of mass destruction, or chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials.