Customs and Border Protection says it’s expanding a transnational operation against fentanyl trafficking that began across the border from Nogales, Arizona.
CBP says its Operation Plaza Spike is next headed to the El Paso-Juarez border in Texas and will focus on another so-called plaza where fentanyl smuggling organizations are active.
The operation was launched in April of this year along the border in Nogales. Officials say it’s targeting gangs and cartels involved in smuggling by revoking visas from known associates and scrutinizing cross-border trade.
The agency says a plaza just across from one of Nogales’ ports of entry is a natural chokepoint for drug trafficking northbound and weapons trafficking southbound. That and the latest target in Juarez are some of 27 sites identified in Mexico.
