Newsmax Exclusive: Noem Reveals Life-Saving Surge in Drug Interdictions

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, speaking exclusively to Newsmax's Joe Moeller, said there has been a life-saving surge in drug interdictions along the San Diego sector of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Moeller, reporting on Newsmax's "National Report," took viewers inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection narcotics vault in the San Diego sector where Noem, leading a tour of the facility along with Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks, said that the room "represents millions of lives that have been saved" through the drug interdictions.

"Agents work around the clock to stop the drugs from coming from Mexico to this side of the border," Moeller reported live from San Diego. "We got a look inside of CBP's narcotics vault here in the San Diego area."

"It's pretty amazing what the ports of entry and CBP is able to do as far as interdicting all these drugs," Noem said, while leading a tour of the vault with Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks. "Literally, this room represents millions of lives that have been saved."

Moeller said the border remains "the front line in the battle against drug trafficking," noting that when drugs are stopped from moving north, some of the narcotics are stored in CBP vaults as evidence.

In the San Diego area, he reported, "more than 188,000 pounds of illegal narcotics, including thousands of pounds of fentanyl, have been seized."

Pressed on what is being done differently now, Noem cited staffing and inspection activity at ports of entry.

"Those individuals are back at the ports of entry. Now they're scanning vehicles and packages and shipments," Noem said. "They're out there doing security operations and making sure that everything that comes into this country is of benefit to our people."

Moeller also reported that "illegal border crossings have been plummeting since President [Donald] Trump took office," but said a maritime smuggling route up the California coast remains a problem.

"The small, panga-style boats full of illegal immigrants looking to get to the U.S. up the California coast haven't changed," Moeller said.

He highlighted a recent case, reporting that on Feb. 2, "CBP air and marine agents had to use non-lethal force to stop a non-responsive boat operator who was trying to flee north with 12 illegal immigrants, including three minors."

When Moeller asked about the shift in tactics, Noem pointed to enforcement pressure at the southern border.

"What you're talking about is the fact that because our southern border is so secure, that now a lot of these cartels and drug traffickers have moved out into our maritime waters," she said.

Noem said the Coast Guard is working with CBP to counter that threat. She also emphasized plans for additional physical barriers and technology.

"What I would say is what's happening is we're building a wall," Noem said. "We're going to make sure that this border is permanent and that it can be enforced for years to come, putting in the technology that we need for surveillance."

Moeller reported DHS is looking to add more coastal monitoring, pointing to a specific community in Orange County.

"They want more eyes on the coast," he said, adding that "San Clemente in south Orange County" is "actually looking to add cameras there to monitor the coast," and that "there's only one other city here in California where they're doing that."

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