CBP Leads Multi Agency K9 Search of Seaport Vessels, Containers

September 23, 2019

CBP Photo/Greg Moore
CBP Photo/Greg Moore

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) led a multi-agency canine examination of ships and shipping containers at the Port of Baltimore Wednesday.

Dubbed Operation Port Days, the operation was billed as an opportunity to expose more local police narcotics detector dogs to the complexities of shipboard and shipping container examinations while searching for narcotics and other illicit contraband. Hotel-height container ships, pose unique challenges to canine examinations with tight spaces between container stacks and the myriad of ladders between decks.

Several canine alerts resulted in intrusive and non-intrusive examinations, though the team found no illicit contraband. By operation’s end, the multi-agency team inspected three ships and more than 80 trucks and shipping containers at both the seaport’s entry and departure gates.

The canine teams represented Kent, Caroline and Dorchester County Sheriff’s Offices and the Federalsburg and Easton Police Departments along the Eastern Shore.

The world is seeing a trend in larger merchant ships, and in particular ships carrying more than 10,000 containers. Transnational criminal organizations are taking advantage of that trend to transport huge loads of concealed cocaine and other dangers drugs across the globe as evidenced by the many recent significant narcotics seizures in the United States and Europe.

“Customs and Border Protection knows that our local law enforcement partners’ canine capabilities can serve as an invaluable force multiplier to quickly and efficiently inspect the larger container ships arriving from high-risk ports in narcotics source nations,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “CBP and all of our law enforcement partners remain collectively committed to intercepting dangerous drug loads before it can harm our communities.”

In June, CBP officers in Philadelphia led a multi-agency team of narcotics detector dogs from local and state law enforcement agencies aboard the MSC Gayane, a massive container ship longer than three football fields and capable of stacking 10,000 shipping containers. That inspection discovered a CBP record of nearly 20 tons of cocaine.

In addition to local law enforcement canine teams, CBP used non-intrusive inspection and radiation detecting technology. The U.S. Coast Guard contributed to the operation.

One of CBP’s primary missions is to facilitate international trade to the from the United States. It is a key element of CBP’s national security and consumer safety priorities.


Logistics News

Mexico Expands Its Largest Port in Bet on Economic Growth and Global Trade

Mexico Expands Its Largest Port in Bet on Economic Growth and Global Trade

ESL Joins World Shipping Council

Just-In-Time Arrival: A Triple Win

Just-In-Time Arrival: A Triple Win

Drewry: Global Container Shipping Volume to Fall 1% in Response to Trump Trade Policies

Drewry: Global Container Shipping Volume to Fall 1% in Response to Trump Trade Policies

Subscribe for Maritime Logistics Professional E‑News

Iran purchased about 60,000 tonnes of barley at auction this week, traders claim
Asian spot prices remain at a 1-year low due to a tepid demand
Air India is in talks with Boeing about 10 planes that Chinese airlines have rejected.