Bipartisan bill will close a loophole and give law enforcement new tools to crack down on ‘smugglers with wings’
TUCSON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday will announce the introduction of bipartisan legislation that will impose tough new penalties on smugglers who use small, low-flying aircraft to bring illegal drugs into the United States.
“Drug smugglers with wings are posing an increasingly serious problem for anyone concerned about border security,” said Giffords. “These smugglers use small, low-flying aircraft to deliver their illicit contraband into our country. But because of a legal loophole, they cannot be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. My legislation will fix this problem.”
Joining the congresswoman at the 2:30 p.m. press conference will be Andrew Gordon, counselor to the general counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and top officials from the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
Also on hand will be an aircraft – known as an ultralight – that was seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The aircraft was used by drug smugglers to bring more than 100 pounds of marijuana into the United States.
Giffords is introducing the bill with U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, a Republican from Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District.
The 2010 National Drug Threat Assessment released by the National Drug Intelligence Center identified ultralight aircraft as one of many ways that drug cartels smuggle drugs into the United States. An analysis by the Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area also noted the use of ultralights by smugglers.
According to Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operation Center in Riverside, Calif., there were 193 suspected incursions and 135 confirmed incursions by ultralights from October 1, 2009 through April 15 of this year.
In October 2008, the center detected an unidentified, northbound, low-flying aircraft 12 miles west of Nogales. A CBP surveillance helicopter took off from Tucson and the low-flying aircraft was identified as an ultralight. The pilot landed southwest of Marana with 223 pounds of marijuana on board.
Three weeks ago, Giffords announced the introduction of legislation to impose new regulations on stored-value devices, a money-transfer mechanism favored by drug cartels.
WHAT: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announces legislation imposing tough penalties on drug smugglers who use small, low-flying aircraft
WHEN: 2:30 p.m., Saturday, May 15
WHERE: Pima County Sheriff’s Air Support Hangar 1-1, 1840 E. Valencia. The facility is at the intersection of Campbell and Valencia, across from the Diamond Shamrock.