(NewsNation) — One border town is taking a new approach to try and stop the flow of fentanyl here into the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents working in the El Centro Sector in Southern California have built a second border wall to reinforce the original wall in an attempt to halt cartel proceedings.
The El Centro Sector is dealing with 25% of the fentanyl seized between ports of entry or by the USBP. El Centro Sector Chief Gregory Bovino is using this innovative technique thanks to the lateral thinking of his agents.
The secondary fence was created out of materials owned by the federal government that were simply gathering dust.
“What we don’t want is paralysis by analysis, or to wait or to hesitate,” El Centro Sector Chief Gregory Bovino said.
“We have to do it fast. And we have to do it hard, because guess what? The bad guys on the south side — they do it fast and hard. We have to do it faster and harder.”
The Sinaloa cartel, which is operational on the opposite side of the border, is aware of the measures taken and acting accordingly.
Sensor bars are often being cut through throughout the sector to avoid crossings being detected.
They are also exploiting zero-second vanishing points, residential areas where people can jump the initial wall and easily hide in residential areas.
To cover the challenging terrain in the El Centro Sector, agents are taking a variety of approaches — using ATVs, foot patrol, vehicle patrols — but they are ultimately relying on the secondary barrier.
