Attorney General Josh Stein Asks Congress to Fund Fentanyl Scanners at the Border

(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein asked Congressional leaders on Tuesday to give U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) approximately $300 million in funding to install equipment CBP already has to detect fentanyl in vehicles entering the United States. CBP has the equipment but cannot install it without additional funding.

“I urge Congress to provide the funds to stop the deadly flow of fentanyl at the border,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Too many North Carolinians are dying. Playing politics with border security is disgraceful.”

More than 95 percent of fentanyl seized at the border arrives in personal vehicles, and more than 27,000 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the border and ports of entry from October 2022 to the end of September 2023. New technology known as Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) enables CBP to x-ray more cars and trucks using massive drive-through screeners at the border. Bipartisan legislators included funds to install the screeners in the bipartisan border security legislation that congressional Republicans blocked earlier this year.