The San Diego sector of the U.S. Border Patrol seized 63 percent less marijuana but 105 percent more cocaine, 44 percent more methamphetamine and 45 percent more heroin in its fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 compared to its 2013 fiscal year, the agency announced Monday.
"I am very pleased with our progress within San Diego sector's area of responsibility," said Chief Patrol Agent Paul Beeson in a statement. "The level of border security achieved over the years has resulted in an increase in the quality of life along the border as noted by the development of housing, shopping malls, small businesses and community infrastructure."
The total weight of the 2013-2014 fiscal year illegal drugs seized were as follows: 17,497 pounds of marijuana, 1,697 pounds of cocaine, 1,797 pounds of meth and more than 2,880 ounces of heroin.
The agency Monday also announced that it took 29,911 people into custody for entering the country illegally in the last fiscal year — an 8.78 percent increase from the prior fiscal year. Apprehensions made by the local sector accounted for 6.1 percent of the 486,651 apprehensions made nationwide in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, and 6.2 percent of the 479,371 made just along the southwest border.
The San Diego sector includes more than 2,500 uniformed agents compared to just around 1,000 agents in 1993. The local sector includes stations in Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, Brown Field, El Cajon, Campo, Boulevard, San Clemente and Murrieta.
