An improvised explosive device (IED) was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents while the device was en route to the U.S.
The homemade bomb was discovered at an Arizona port of entry during a secondary inspection by CBP officers, journalist Ali Bradley reported in a Twitter post.
According to Bradley’s exclusive account, the IED was constructed with an M&M container with electrical tape and had blue and red wires exposed.
At the time of the post, no information was available on the person or group that attempted to smuggle the device into the U.S.
CBP officials confirmed the discovery, stating that the Arizona Department of Public Safety was contacted to inspect the device.
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was contacted and responded to the port to interview the subject,” CBP said in a statement. “A complete search of the vehicle was conducted after AZDPS had removed the destructive device with no additional items located.”
The device raised security concerns, having been discovered just days before an expected surge of migrants as the U.S. Title 42 policy was set to end.
At least 700,000 migrants were expected to make their way to the U.S. southern border after the expiration of Title 42, concerning officials as to whether the U.S. is adequately prepared.
“Border Patrol shared with us their intelligence that there are approximately 700,000, as of three weeks ago, in the shelters in Mexico waiting to come into the United States,” Yuma County Board of Supervisors’ Jonathan Lines said in a recent interview with Breitbart. “They also shared with us that at the Darian Gap which is at the Panama Canal, they’ve seen a 500 percent surge in people crossing over that gap on their way up to the United States.”
Lines added that transnational groups and cartels are fueling the crisis, driven by a profit motive.
“International labor organizations and the cartels are facilitating this trade,” Lines said. “They’re making a significant amount of money — 27 million were forced into labor over the last two years [and] 6.3 million [forced] into sexual exploitation.”
