Border War Comes to Michigan

The Alpena, Michigan newspaper reported on May 16, 2011 that there is a problem with small airplanes arriving at small airports and dropping off drugs to be sold.

Because the enforcement along the Mexican border has caused the smuggling of drugs to be more difficult, the Mexican cartels have gone airborne instead, often managing to bring their drugs in through the Northern states. The small airport in Sandusky, MI, about 90 miles northeast of Detroit, has been one of the places that was easy to use because it isn’t staffed at nighttime. And they cannot pick up “rogue” planes that have their transponders turned off, either.

So far a fence was installed to keep cars from coming up to meet the planes, and the border guards offered two signs that encourage people to call the 800 number if they see anything unusual. But with no staff there, who is going to see a quick drop at a small runway next to a soybean field?

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano hopes to start tapping into 22 Canadian radars to fill surveillance gaps on the border. Some lawmakers want to use military-grade radar and “drones” that could detect small aircraft.

Recently, a small Cessna airplane landed about midnight and dropped a load of drugs and took off 90 seconds later. But this time the U.S. border patrol was waiting. The drug traffickers were surprised by a powerful spotlight from a patrol helicopter which helped police to track an SUV carrying 175 pounds of marijuana and 400,000 Ecstasy-type pills.

Clearly, the discussion about porous borders does not only relate to Mexico. But the problem with the northern border is that it is quite long and a large percentage of it doesn’t even have border checks. There is a street out west that has British Columbia on one side and Washington State on the other. And Michigan’s lakes and well, airspace afford opportunities for drug traffickers to get through.

It seems that as long as there is a market for drugs, the dealers will find a way to provide for them. And so, stressing the educational aspect and the relational aspects that keep people connected and less likely to need drugs, seems to be where the attention should go. Providing treatment for those who have made bad choices can help turn peoples’ lives around and make for fewer customers too.

If the Sandusky airport is closed down tight, unfortunately the dealers will find another one that isn’t.