SAN DIEGO-- U.S. authorities say they are seizing significantly more illicit cash and guns along the Mexican border.
Three federal agencies that police the border announced Tuesday in San Diego that $40 million in Mexico-bound cash was seized on the southwest border from mid-March through September. That is nearly double the amount from the same period in 2008.
"Its the direct result of the increased resources and the increased emphasis we are placing on the Southwest border" said John Morton, the Assistant Secretary of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"You can no longer call them just drug trafficking organization. They are much more than that. They are enterprises, they have tentacles in 230 American cities" said Morton.
The agencies say officers also seized nearly 600 illegal weapons headed for Mexico, up more than 50 percent from last fiscal year.
"They're a mafia. For everything we do, absolutely they are going to re-orient" said Border Patrol chief David Aguilar.
The announcement came as top federal immigration officials discuss ways to curb the flow of weapons and drug sale profits into Mexico from the United States. The conference includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement , U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"We are here focusing on the Southwest border because it really is the vortex of this criminal activity, it is the front line of drugs coming north" said acting ATF director Ken Melson.
