NOGALES, Ariz. — In a major expansion of frontline non-intrusive inspection capabilities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has operationalized drive-through multi-energy portal scanners across passenger and commercial vehicle lanes at the Mariposa Port of Entry, intercepting record quantities of illicit synthetic opioids.
NOGALES, Ariz. — Customs and Border Protection officers at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales demonstrated the agency’s newest weapon in the war against synthetic fentanyl: drive-through multi-energy portal (MEP) scanners capable of peering through commercial tractor-trailers and passenger sedans in seconds without requiring motorists to exit their vehicles.
Transnational drug cartels have shifted aggressively away from bulky plant-based narcotics toward highly concentrated synthetic opioids like fentanyl, often pressed into counterfeit prescription pills. Smugglers conceal millions of lethal doses inside hollowed-out rocker panels, spare tire wells, drive shafts, and vehicle floorboards—compartments virtually undetectable during standard visual canine and officer inspections.
High-Velocity Radiographic Discrimination
The multi-energy portal system projects high-energy and low-energy X-ray beams through the passing vehicle as it travels through the portal at speeds up to five miles per hour. By measuring the precise ratio of beam attenuation, the system’s software calculates the effective atomic number (Z-effective) of every object inside the vehicle.
On the inspector’s high-resolution console, organic substances—such as narcotics, explosives, and human stowaways—appear highlighted in bright orange, while dense inorganic metals like engine blocks appear in deep blue. A smuggler attempting to pack thousands of fentanyl pills into a vehicle’s frame rail is immediately exposed by an unmistakable orange density signature within the hollow steel beam.
Scaling Interdiction While Maintaining Economic Velocity
With more than 1,000 commercial trucks and 10,000 passenger vehicles crossing the Mariposa port daily, maintaining trade velocity is paramount for the regional produce and manufacturing sectors. The MEP gantries require only 15 seconds to scan and adjudicate an entire passenger car, allowing officers to expand secondary screening by more than 400 percent without creating border gridlock.
“Over 90 percent of the illicit fentanyl seized along our southwest border is intercepted at official ports of entry in commercial trucks and passenger vehicles,” said Troy Miller, CBP Deputy Commissioner. “These drive-through portals give our officers the radiographic clarity they need to find needles in haystacks, stopping lethal narcotics before they reach American communities.”