Ottawa, Aug 21 (IANS): The US Border Patrol is building a cable barrier along some sections of the cross-border between Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia to curb "dangerous criminal enterprises".

A US border official told CTV on Thursday that the cable barrier not only protects people in the US and Canada, but it also aids in securing this portion of the border by deterring illegal vehicle entries in both directions, Xinhua news agency reported.

The official also said trans-national criminal organizations have capitalized on this vulnerable area by smuggling both narcotics and people.

"This enhancement to this specific border areas mitigates the threat posed by these dangerous criminal enterprises."

Both Canada and the US agreed to close the cross-border to non-essential travel since March 21 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The agreement has been extended every month since and is expected to be renewed to next year.

CTV reported that a total of 12,819 US citizens have been turned away from the shared border between March 22 and August 5.

Last month, British Columbia Premier John Horgan warned of the "Alaska loophole" ,whereby Americans used to travel to Alaska to take pit stops in the province.