Customs and Border Protection provides air support for border patrol Published May 16, 2006 By Mara Minwegen 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- A heavily loaded, small private plane leaves an obscure airfield in rural Mexico. The pilot, a person not unknown to U.S. law enforcement agencies, has filed a flight plan indicating his entry into California, and no doubt has his illegal cargo securely stowed. What this hypothetical pilot doesn't know is that when he crosses the U.S. border, Jack Hinton, Air Interdiction Agent with the Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine Operations here, is getting a message from the CBP radar center at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., alerting him to the existence and exact location of the suspicious aircraft. "New Mexico is about as far as you can go from California in a light aircraft without refueling," said Mr. Hinton. It will be the job of an agent from this office to check out the aircraft when it lands somewhere in New Mexico. Customs and Border Protection was once part of the U.S. Customs Service, located at Albuquerque's civilian airport, and was a branch of the El Paso unit. In 1991 the operation moved to Kirtland as an associate unit. Until 2003, when with many other agencies it fell under the Department of Homeland Security, it was part of the Treasury department and had the primary responsibility to stop smuggling by air. The CBP is now charged with anti-terrorism and air support for the border patrol, as well as its traditional duties of interdiction of air smuggling and support of any U.S. law enforcement agency that requests help, said Keith Amershek, Air Interdiction Agent. The smuggling business is as varied as ever - the expected drugs, weapons and cash along with tropical birds, wildlife, skins and exotic folk remedies are among the items agents have encountered. "It's anything that people want," he said. Agencies from sheriff's departments to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and even foreign governments request the help of the CBP because they have the greatest aviation assets of any federal agency other than the military, Benedict Wooten, Air Interdiction Agent and experienced line pilot, said. For example, Mr. Wooten has taken part in operations such as the investigation of a family enmeshed in a narcotics organization that encompassed two continents and ended in the arrest of key figures in the drug trade. He was part of the team when the Albuquerque Police Department and the District Attorney's office asked CBP to help when a rash of gang killings spread through the area as a result of the infiltration of a deadly Los Angeles gang. More recently, the CBP worked with local agencies and the U.S. Marshals Service, providing surveillance and other resources in the Michael Paul Astorga case. They also flew many missions in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort and regularly take part in search and rescue missions. From October to April 14, the CBP Albuquerque/El Paso unit seized 6,466.8 pounds of marijuana, 77.34 pounds of cocaine, six vehicles, 502 pounds of explosives and $646,428 in currency. They made 46 arrests and detained 31 illegal aliens who were then returned to their home country. While those numbers are impressive and represent much of the day-to-day work of this organization, they don't overshadow the importance of the new, primary mission of anti-terrorism and border protection. Beechcraft King Air aircraft with specialized equipment monitor the border and helicopters are used for specific missions, as are the Cessna Citations. Richard Newton, Air Interdiction Agent and helicopter pilot from the El Paso office, flies the Blackhawk UH-60 and the AStar AS-350 Eurocopter. He understands the importance of the new mission and why the organization that grew up chasing air smugglers is so well suited to it. "General aviation is still the easiest way to commit a terrorist act," he said.