The budget for Customs Air Branch has been cut based on the agency's assessment that it has won the war against air smugglers - a scenario that is, at best, fictional. Informant funds have been misused and auditors have been prevented from reviewing financial records. Other agencies distrust Customs so much they don't pass on information that could help it seize drugs and ferret out corruption. Customs employees are suspected of stealing money seized in two highly publicized Customs cases in New Mexico. Customs has lost significant amounts of cocaine through theft and bungled undercover investigations.
Agents say complaints about corruption of inspectors and higher-ups are ignored or covered up.
And agents who blow the whistle say their cases are killed and they are hounded out. Congressional staffers reviewing the Customs' budget say they've heard similar allegations from agents and inspectors. In the last six months, inspectors in El Paso and California have been indicted for allegedly taking bribes to allow drugs into the country. The corruption investigations are continuing and Congress is getting involved. Changing tactics Customs officials generally defend the agency and say they have addressed the port-running problem.