CBP And NICB Partner To Target Criminal Smuggling Organizations

News provided by

Jun 08, 2021, 10:00 ET

DES PLAINES, Ill., June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a partnership with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today to prevent companies associated with smuggling migrants into the United States from securing insurance for their commercial enterprises.

The partnership is tied to Operation Sentinel, a new counter-network targeting operation launched in April 2021.

Operation Sentinel partners are currently targeting hundreds of criminal organization members, their affiliates and their associated businesses, and investigating whether to exclude from Federal programs, through actions such as suspension and/or debarment, any such persons who are not presently responsible. The government-wide suspension and debarment system exists to protect the public interest, the public's money, and the integrity of Federal programs by ensuring that Federal agencies only conduct business with presently responsible persons.

"Ensuring smuggling organizations are not able to do business with the U.S. government will severely limit their ability to operate," said CBP Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Troy Miller. "Our partnership with NICB will broaden the reach of each government action by informing insurance companies of the debarred organizations."

The NICB is the insurance industry's premier association dedicated to predicting, preventing, and prosecuting insurance crime. Their extensive network of more than 1,200 member companies includes more than 80 percent of the nation's property-casualty insurance companies. Following CBP's determination to suspend or debar a particular company or individual, NICB will inform their members of the suspended or debarred entity.

"NICB has a long history of partnering with CBP, and we welcome the opportunity to expand on that relationship to aid with ongoing investigations targeting Transnational Organized Crime," said David Glawe, NICB President and CEO and former DHS Under Secretary for Intelligence. "We look forward to working with Secretary Mayorkas and Commissioner Miller to extend the reach of their efforts in targeting organizations affiliated with the smuggling of migrants."

Operation Sentinel is an anti-smuggling effort that targets all personnel and identifiable resources that criminal smuggling operations require to operate. Utilizing the full breadth of domestic and foreign authorities, data, analytic capability and capacity, Operation Sentinel maps the organizations' networks; targets their members, associates, and assets; and employs a series of targeted actions and sanctions against them.

CBP: U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

REPORT FRAUD: Anyone with information concerning insurance fraud or vehicle theft can report it anonymously by calling toll-free 800.TEL.NICB (800.835.6422) or submitting a form on our website.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU: Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through Intelligence & Analytics, Learning & Development, and Strategy, Policy, & Plans. The NICB is supported by more than 1,200 property and casualty insurance companies, rental car agencies, auto auctions, and self-insured entities. NICB member companies wrote more than $526 billion in insurance premiums in 2019, or more than 82% of the nation's property-casualty insurance. That includes more than 95% ($241 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more, visit www.nicb.org.

SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau