Cheese trafficking from Mexico to the US surpasses drug trafficking
Becomes most lucrative underground market
By ONANTZIN News
2011-04-30
LOS ANGELES, CA -- The United States Department of Justice reported today that illegal cheese trafficking by Mexicans into the US generates more money than all illegal drugs – combined. The report comes after a two year investigation that tracked cheese smugglers, distribution routes, and local distributors in cities across the US.
Earlier today, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice told CNN that the news came as a shock, admitting that "no one expected the smuggling of cheese to be so pervasive and lucrative".
Government officials first took notice two and a half years ago, when a truck was detained at the Tijuana border-crossing attempting to smuggle 100 pounds of pure Mexican cheese into the US, a quantity excessively over the legal amount that's allowed to come in for personal consumption. The incident prompted US Customs and Immigration enforcement to initiate an internal investigation into the matter, which found that cheese smuggling was far more widespread than they initially thought.
The findings prompted the Department of Justice to begin an undercover operation, which targeted cheese retailers in Mexico, distribution routes in the US, and the disbursement of cheese once it got into the local community. What they found was staggering; The underground market was massive, but contrary to their beliefs, the illegal activities were not run by organized cartels as the drug trade is, but instead, by ordinary individuals with no connection to each other.
On its report, the Department of Justice reveals that over a two year period, thousands of Mexicans(either living in Mexico or the US) were randomly screened for cheese smuggling at the border. The results showed that a breathtaking 98% of all Mexicans,who legally entered the United States by personal vehicle, brought cheese with them. The act of bringing cheese for personal consumption is acceptable by customs enforcement, but what raised concerns was that of the 98% who brought back cheese, 96% of them had a secret stash of cheese hidden away in a compartment of their car, their kids' backpacks, or other places. Even more alarming was that of these 96% with a secret stash, 80% had a second secret compartment used to smuggle cheese into the US.
In all, the report estimates that Mexicans who enter the US with cheese bring an average of 50 pounds with them. Once in the community, the cheese is "cut" up and can sell for up to 10 times its Mexican retail value. Mexicans claim the cheese is for personal consumption or as a gift to relatives, but the data shows that only a small portion of the cheese is used for personal consumption, while the rest is sold.
50 pounds of cheese may not be enough cause alarm, but when the numbers are crunched, the figures are staggering. An estimated 310,000 Mexicans enter the US each day by personal vehicle (both Mexicans whose permanent home is in Mexico or the US). Of those 310,000, 98% of them bring back 50 pounds of cheese on average. This comes out to 15,190,000 pounds of cheese that enter the US each day. With only about 5% of the smuggled cheese being used for personal consumption, and the rest able to sell for an estimated $8 dollars a pound in the United States, the illegal cheese market generates an estimated, jaw dropping, $115,444,000 dollars a day, more than marijuana, cocaine, meth, and human smuggling combined.
Evidence also suggests that the illegal trade is starting to take it's toll on the domestic cheese market, with states like Wyoming and California reporting major loses in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The US admits that stopping this underground market is an overwhelming task, simply because of the number of individuals partaking in this activity. Even when caught, US officials say, smugglers get away without jail time and simply go back to smuggling cheese on their next trip to Mexico. The US government is set to hold meetings on the subject to determine how to best tackle this issue. Officials admit that it may take some time before they re-asses their border strategies to be able to effectively deter this underground market.
Experts on Mexican culture said that the news is not surprising to them, explaining that there exists an unshakable belief by Mexicans that everything from Mexico tastes better, cheese in particular. They advise that the only way to stop this colossal underground market is to divert more resources not to border inspections, but towards campaigns that promote domestic cheese as equal to that of our neighbors down south. Later, however, the experts disclaimed that although this approach sounds good in theory, they have little faith that an ad campaign will work in this case. Asked why they offered the suggestion in the first place, if they have little faith in it, the experts apologized and said it was because they had forgotten how good Mexican cheese is.