Law enforcement has the herculean task of preventing the scourge of illegal drugs from entering and spreading in the United States. From Border Patrol personnel who seize fentanyl at ports of entry to state, local and federal law enforcement officers and agents who arrest smugglers and their opioid poisons, it is all hands on deck in the fight against drug trafficking.

Almost all hands.

As reported Thursday, TD Bank will pay $3 billion to settle allegations that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced.

The fine includes a $1.3 billion penalty to be paid to the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a record fine for a bank. According to CNN, TD also plans to pay $1.8 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice and plead guilty to resolve the federal investigation that the bank violated the Bank Secrecy Act and permitted money laundering.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that TD Bank had “long-standing, widespread and systemic deficiencies” in its transaction monitoring procedures. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news late Wednesday.

“By making its services convenient for criminals, it has become one,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference Thursday.

Follow the Money plays a major role in detecting and stopping drug trafficking, and it is vital that banks are involved.

More than 90% of transactions went unmonitored between January 2018 and April 2024, allowing “three money laundering networks to collectively transfer more than $670 million through TD Bank accounts,” according to a legal filing.

“I want to make clear that these system failures did not just create hypothetical vulnerabilities, but actually resulted in material harm to American citizens and communities,” Assistant Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “Unlike its competitors, TD Bank has consistently prioritized growth and profits over compliance. The bank enabled the drug trade.”

The $3 billion in collective fines is not sufficient punishment given the harm caused by allowing human traffickers to ply their trade.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said TD processed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions, clearly indicating highly suspicious activity. And they missed it or ignored it.

“This is a difficult chapter in our bank’s history,” TD Bank CEO Bharat Masrani said in a statement. “These errors occurred under my watch as CEO and I apologize to all of our stakeholders.”

Does this include people who struggle with addiction or have lost loved ones to an overdose?

An apology is not enough. The fines are high, but they won't break the bank. TD said it has sufficient liquidity to pay the fine and continue operations.

Senator Elizabeth Warren weighed in: “Big banks view government fines as a cost of doing business,” she said in a statement. “This settlement exonerates bad bank managers for using TD Bank as a criminal slush fund. ”

It's not just about getting caught and paying a fine. It's not about making excuses and manipulating finances to deal with the financial hit. People die, families are destroyed and communities suffer when illegal drugs find their way onto our streets.

Heads should roll.