Guam - Last year the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency recorded more than 1,100 drug seizure cases involving crystal methamphetamine.  In his State of the Island Address, Governor Eddie Calvo stated that this was a 120% increase in confiscations of the drug Ice.

Customs spokesperson Lieutenant Ferdinand Soriano only expects the numbers to rise as the summer months draw near. "Especially during the summer and Christmas Break, we notice when peak season arrives and more travelers coming in then there will be a chance for more drugs and prohibited items coming in," he said.

A week ago Customs officers made a major bust catching a passenger coming from Korea off a flight from the Philippines, attempting to smuggle in more than 400 grams of Ice that he allegedly concealed in a hidden compartment in his luggage. Soriano says that case is just one of dozens more that are still being investigated by Guam Customs. 

And as drug smugglers increase their trafficking, Customs has had to beef up its enforcement to combat the growing problem. "We do have another dog training class that we just recently started, so hopefully they can be out soon, we've also had to rotate people from one shift to do other shifts so that we can have full coverage," he explained.

The agency is also sorting out the masses of drug evidence that has been in their custody for the past decade. Soriano says the majority of the drugs will be destroyed, noting, "As far as drug destruction, we've already taken care of a lot of pharmaceuticals that have been in our storage for a while and those drugs have gone through a process called ‘auto-cleaving', heat treatment, then proper disposal." He added, "The controlled substances we are still working out I can't really comment on what processes we are going through with that. Just to let you know we are actively working on getting that stuff properly disposed of."

Customs reports an overall 500% increase in drug seizures made in the last year.