Meanwhile, exports rose 6.4%, driven up mainly by shipments of manufactured goods, the customs and tariff bureau said.

BBC: Japan trade deficit hits record as yen weakens

Tax revenues are also at a record high, thanks to two reform-minded officials who head the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, which have traditionally been impregnable fortresses of graft.

CNN: SHARE THIS

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, another federal bureau, could bring more business if Congress funds the intelligence-reform bill passed last in late 2004.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Other federal agencies such as the U.S. Customs Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation use dogs to find contraband, cocaine or criminals.

CNN: Canines patrol grounds daily

The Obama administration promises to send several hundred more agents to the border, both from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ECONOMIST: Mexico and the United States

The forces were joined by colleagues from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), HM Revenue and Customs, BT Openreach, the Scottish Environment and Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Motor Insurance Bureau.

BBC: Scotland-England border

Operation Smoking Dragon was an investigation run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which received substantial assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

FORBES: Scary Crimes Uncovered by FBI in Operation Smoking Dragon