The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has sharply criticized U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for mismanaging the deployment of scanning technology meant to detect illicit drugs like fentanyl at the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to the OIG's June 2025 report, CBP purchased 150 large-scale non-intrusive inspection (NII) systems between 2020 and 2024, but only 50—just 33%—were installed. The rest remained in various states: 21 had been delivered but not installed, 31 were still under construction, and 43—worth over $96 million—were in storage. Five systems could not be accounted for.
The NII systems, which use X-rays or gamma rays to scan vehicles and cargo for hidden contraband, were intended to strengthen drug interdiction efforts amid rising fentanyl-related overdoses. From 2021 to 2024, CBP seizures of fentanyl nearly doubled from 10 to 19 metric tons.
The report found that of 361 systems installed since 2019, 166 (46%) were inoperable at some point—sometimes for as long as 344 days—resulting in more than 400,000 hours of downtime. Auditors also identified significant problems with CBP's tracking system, including missing data, duplicate timestamps, and unlogged reasons for system failures.
The OIG concluded that CBP did not follow DHS acquisition policy, underestimated infrastructure requirements, failed to plan for system deployment and maintenance, and ignored early warnings about compatibility issues such as radiation interference with other systems.
"CBP was unable to deploy these systems for reasons such as radiation portal monitor interference, insufficient funding, and difficulties obtaining land lease agreements," the report stated.
In response, CBP acknowledged the findings and concurred with all four recommendations made by the OIG, including the need to implement a deployment plan, enhance maintenance contracts, and improve data accuracy. However, only three recommendations were marked as resolved pending evidence. The first—developing a compliant deployment plan—remains open.
Henry Moak, CBP's senior component accountable official, noted in the agency's response that the report "is lacking important context," adding that NII "is only one of multiple tools" used to detect contraband. He also emphasized CBP's layered approach to border security to avoid overreliance on a single system.
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