Miller: Sanilac Drug Bust Shows that Border Security Efforts Are Working; More Needs to be Done

Statement

U.S. Congresswoman Candice Miller (MI-10) today made the following comments regarding the recent arrests of 29 Canadian men who are being charged with 110 drug trafficking offenses involving manufacturing, trafficking and smuggling of ecstasy, methamphetamine and marijuana across Lake Huron through Sanilac County and other locations. Miller is the appointed-Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security for the 112th Congress, which will convene on January 5th. Miller said the following:

"The recent arrests of 29 Canadian men accused of smuggling drugs such as ecstasy, marijuana and methamphetamine across Lake Huron into Sanilac County show that efforts to further secure our border are working. This bust was a result of incredible cooperation between federal, state, local and Canadian law enforcement partners.

"Recent improvements that have been made to law enforcement capabilities in the former drug trafficking highway that extended from the Blue Water Bridge to the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, including the SBInet border monitoring system, has forced drug traffickers to move their operations northward into Lake Huron making this shipments more difficult to conceal from law enforcement and an alert public. While this arrest shows that our system is improving, more still needs to be done to secure our border. As we make it more difficult for criminals along the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River, we need to provide additional tools to law enforcement as the criminals move their operations. One of the ideas I have long advocated is the placement of unmanned aerial vehicles at Selfridge Air National Guard Base that would fly missions over the Great Lakes to provide law enforcement real-time information of criminal activity. We also need to continue to supply local law enforcement, who are our first line of homeland security, with the tools they need to assist in this effort.

"As the incoming Chair of the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee, I will work with all parties involved while making certain that they have the tools they need to keep this poison out of the hands of our children. I applaud the incredible efforts of every member of law enforcement involved in the takedown of this drug ring, especially Sanilac County Sheriff Garry Biniecki and the Director of his Drug Task Force, William Gray."

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