The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced it is doubling down on efforts to combat the epidemic of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.
Local 10 had an exclusive sit-down interview with Kristie Canegallo, the acting deputy secretary of DHS, to discuss ways the potent opioid is being stopped at the southern border with Mexico, where most of it is smuggled in.
“We’re trying to develop intelligence where we’re going after the networks of smugglers,” Canegallo said.
Opioid overdose deaths in adolescents grew more rapidly than the general population between 2019 and 2021, according to a new study of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Eric Wiedeke, a father in Pembroke Pines, said his daughter Courtney struggled into adulthood with anxiety and addiction issues. But he was hopeful she would improve after moving home from California last fall.
“She brought a lot of smiles, a lot of happiness,” Wiedeke said. “If Courtney came, she could get herself back together here. We would help her.”
On Courtney’s first full day back at home, Wiedeke said he initially thought she was sleeping in. But after not responding to knocks on her bedroom door, he said what he discovered still haunts him.
“I found her on the bed face down in a kneeling position,” he recalled. “It was very shocking.”
According a Broward County medical examiner’s report, the cause of death was an accidental overdose of fentanyl.
“The human cost is so devastating, and it’s one of the reasons why we are so motivated to do all we can,” Canegallo said.
Last spring, Local 10 went to the southern border with Mexico to see the work of U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to stop the flow of the narcotic.
At the Nogales port of entry, tools like scanners and drug-sniffing dogs are being deployed to detect fentanyl and other illicit drugs.
But a new scanner, known as a multi-energy portal, is now operational and can check more vehicles more quickly. DHS plans to provide 123 of these scanners at ports and other points of entry along the Southwest Border by 2026.
The new technology will help CBP increase its inspection capacity from what has historically been around two percent of passenger vehicles and about 17 percent of cargo vehicles to 40 percent of passenger vehicles and 70 percent of cargo vehicles.
“I don’t want what happened to my daughter to happen to another human being,” Wiedeke said. “We need to stop the flow of this drug. It’s poison.”
According to Pembroke Pines police, the investigation continues into Courtney’s death.
“It really is a constant effort,” Canegallo said. “Because smugglers -- they are motivated, they are agile. And we are, too.”