International packages shipped to the United States and delivered by the U.S. Postal Service are not required to include advance electronic data, which U.S. customs agents use to identify potentially dangerous or illegal materials. As a result, many drug traffickers extort this loophole to ship opioids into the country undetected, Tom Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania and the first U.S. secretary of homeland security, wrote in an op-ed for northjersey.com.
Here are three things know:
1. The loophole has allowed traffickers to ship drugs into the U.S. for nearly a decade, according to Mr. Ridge.
2. He said U.S. Customs and Border Protection, along with other law enforcement agencies, are not equipped with the proper tools to detect illicit drugs like fentanyl in the more than 1.3 million packages entering the country every day.
3. Mr. Ridge believes the U.S. must take action to close this loophole. In June, the House of Representatives passed the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, which would requires AED on all international packages delivered via a private or public carrier in the U.S.
"Now, the Senate will hopefully soon follow suit and send the STOP Act to the president's desk, where the bill has the White House's support," Mr. Ridge wrote.
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