Despite a manpower shortage, the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency was able to intercept approximately 100 pounds of crystal methamphetamine from being smuggled into Guam in 2020, Customs Chief Vincent Perez stated.
Last year, the agency intercepted more than 100 pounds – 49,895 grams – of crystal methamphetamine worth almost $7.5 million or about $150 per gram, Perez stated.
More than 95% of the intercepted meth came in through the mail and the rest between the air freight port of entry and the airport port of entry, Perez stated.
These drugs “would have made it into our communities if not for the hard work and dedication of Customs officers,” Perez stated.
The latest estimated street price for meth is a further decrease from $1,000 per gram two decades ago to between $500 and $250 per gram in 2017, according to prior Guam Customs data.
“Today, despite thinly spread resources – 128 officers – and additional responsibilities relating to homeland security initiatives, our officers continue their hard work, dedication and vigilance at the borders,” Perez stated in a recent letter to The Guam Daily Post. Guam Customs’ number of officers is nearly half its force before 9/11, when the agency had 230.
Guam Customs officers and other local law enforcers often don’t last in the local agency and are drawn to federal jobs because of the disparity in pay, he stated. He’s calling for a reform in the pay and benefits system for local law enforcers that will be on par with what the federal government offers.
“The drug crystal methamphetamine is not readily manufactured in Guam and comes in via air, sea freight, mail, body-carried or smuggled on arriving flights or vessels,” Perez stated. “The point is – if you stop drugs at the point it enters, it will not hit our communities. Seems like an easy fix, right? In order to do this, you’d need adequate manpower and resources. Even countries like the mainland United States struggle with this question despite their vast resources.”
He stated the agency also needs updated equipment, technology and information gathering to flag passengers and cargo shipment before they arrive on Guam.
CQA would like to replace aging X-ray systems at its ports and acquire a fixed X-ray system capable of screening containerized freight, he stated.
