WASHINGTON — On July 19, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Dr. Rahul Gupta recognized law enforcement officials and agencies at the annual United States Interdiction Coordinator Awards for their exemplary work to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and dismantle the criminal networks fueling the nation’s overdose epidemic.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was among the recipients from across the country selected for their outstanding efforts to reduce the flow of deadly, illicit drugs like fentanyl into American communities.
HSI Hartford’s Northeast Corridor Border Enforcement Security Task Force (NE-BEST) group was awarded the Land Interdiction award for their interdiction initiative focused on the identification and disruption of illegal drug and bulk currency smuggling through domestic and international carriers. In 2022, the HSI Hartford NE-BEST, with cooperation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Connecticut State Police, the Hartford Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and private sector partners began this initiative which led to the seizure of over 80 kilograms of controlled substances, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and ketamine within a year. Additionally, the NE-BEST seized $810,000 in bulk U.S. currency and initiated 19 parallel investigations concerning bulk currency smuggling.
“Since Day One, President Biden has taken historic action and made historic investments to support law enforcement and drug-related crime prevention as part of his whole-of-society effort to address the overdose epidemic,” said Dr. Gupta. “I’m proud to honor the heroic efforts of these law enforcement leaders today who are working tirelessly around the clock to prevent deadly drugs from reaching our communities and hurting vulnerable Americans. The Biden-Harris Administration is grateful for their steadfast partnership and will continue to support life-saving law enforcement efforts to reduce overdoses, deprive drug traffickers of their profits, and keep Americans safe.”
“The achievements of the HSI Hartford Northeast Corridor BEST team show what is possible when we reach for ambitious goals and work together. Their seizures of over 80 kilograms of controlled substances along with the seizure of over $800,000 in cash directly disrupt and derail the criminal organizations operating in New England. Our region has deeply felt the impacts of the opioid crisis and the Northeast Corridor BEST works every day to stop deadly drugs from reaching our communities,” said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. “We are so proud of this team’s work and congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.”
The ONDCP USIC Award Program recognizes the superior efforts and achievements of agencies and individuals on the frontlines of drug interdiction. The interdictions occurred across the drug trafficking supply chain, including cyber and illicit proceeds flowing back into the drug trafficking organization networks.
U.S. law enforcement has seized more fentanyl at ports of entry in the past two years than in the previous five years combined. In just the last five months, a historic 375,200 pounds of illicit drugs, including over 442 million doses of fentanyl were seized at U.S. borders.
The primary mission of HSI’s BEST teams is to combat transnational criminal organizations by employing federal, state, local, tribal and international law enforcement authorities and resources to identify, investigate, disrupt and dismantle these organizations at every level of operation. BESTs eliminate the barriers between federal and local investigations and close the gap with international partners in multinational criminal investigations.
BESTs serve as an important tool to combat transnational criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, human smuggling, weapons trafficking, and money laundering. There are over 90 BESTs throughout the United States and its territories, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.