SandBoxBlogs: Customs and Border Protection "Nogales CBP Officers Seize Nearly $600,000 in Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Heroin"

"Nogales, Ariz. — An 18-year-old Mexican national attempting to smuggle approximately 57 pounds of cocaine, three pounds of methamphetamine and 2.5 pounds of heroin into the United States was arrested Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protectiom (CBP) officers assigned to the Dennis DeConcini Port.

 

Officers referred the man for a secondary inspection of his Ford Expedition after a CBP canine alerted to the presence of drugs. During the secondary inspection, officers located 22 packages of cocaine, two packages of methamphetamine and one package of heroin. The drugs have a combined value of more than $595,000.

 

The drugs and vehicle were processed for seizure. The subject was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

 

Individuals arrested may be charged by complaint, the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity, which raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

SandBoxBlogs: Daily Times "Feds nab 28 New Mexico gang members"

(See related story here)

Russell Contreras:
""Not only do we welcome (the federal presence), we're asking for it," said San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christesen, whose territory includes the areas in the Four Corners bordering the large Navajo Nation.

Because the Navajo Nation is so isolated and large, Christesen said the area is a popular route from Phoenix for drug traffickers and human smugglers who use the reservation's many remote roads to distribute throughout the region. "It shouldn't be left to the local law enforcement agencies to fight a national problem," Christesen said.

According to Ulrich, most of those arrested in New Mexico were living near Farmington. Five of the 28 arrested were women linked to the gangs, Ulrich said.

Federal authorities said that by getting involved and charging criminals in federal court, they can increase the amount of prison time.

In recent months, Homeland Security agents assisted local law enforcement agencies in more than 20 criminal investigations that will be prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, said Ulrich.

The federal government can seize criminals' money and possessions when they are convicted.

Since 2009, Homeland Security Investigations has added around 60 new agents to New Mexico and helped formed a number of joint task forces and multiagency groups aimed at tackling rural gangs, political corruption, drug and gun trafficking, child pornography, and human smuggling.

The beefed-up presence has resulted in a string of recent high-profile arrests, federal officials said. In March, for example, the mayor of the border town of Columbus and its police chief were among those arrested in a drug and weapons raid following a federal investigation into firearms smuggling from the U.S. to Mexico.

The mayor and police chief later pleaded guilty to federal charges..." (Read more?  Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Glenwood festival arrestee sentenced"

Dennis Webb:
"A man arrested last June as part of a controversial law enforcement action during Glenwood Springs’ Strawberry Days festival has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.

David Adrian Ramirez-Centeno will be deported after serving his sentence, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver.

Following his June arrest, he was indicted last September on a charge of unlawful re-entry of an alien with an aggravated felony conviction.

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and some local political leaders, event organizers and businesses had criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local law enforcement for having conducted the enforcement action during the festival.

ICE and Garfield Sheriff Lou Vallario have defended the action, saying it targeted local gang members. The sheriff’s office said in a news release today that a multijurisdictional gang unit in the county “will continue to cooperate with all agencies necessary to disrupt and dismantle gang activity and the threat it brings to our communities.....”  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Customs and Border Protection "San Juan CBP Seizes 102 Kilos of Cocaine in Two Separate Seizures"

"San Juan, Puerto Rico- For the third time this month, the diligence and commitment to duty of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in the San Juan Area Port prevented drug traffickers from using commercial shipments to introduce cocaine through our shores.

 

Yesterday, while performing inspectional duties on MV CFS Paradero, arriving from Rio Haina, Dominican Republic, CBP officers assigned to the San Juan Seaport selected various containers for additional

examination. Using available technology, they detected anomalies in two of the containers.

 

When the containers were physically inspected, two bags, believed to contain narcotics, were found inside each container. On one of the containers the two bags contained a total of 32 packages that when field tested proved positive for cocaine, with an approximate weight of 35 kilograms (77 pounds).

 

On the second container, 60 packages, with an approximate weight of 67 kilograms (148 pounds), also tested positive for cocaine.

 

The container cargo description on one of the containers was “napkins” and on the other “Calcium Carbonate.”

 

Estimated street value for the seizures is $2,224,000.

 

The custody of the duffle bags and the contraband was transferred to ICE Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation.

 

Last Thursday, CBP also seized 28 kilos (61.73 pounds) of cocaine and 5.53 kilos (12.19 pounds) of heroin inside a container on board the M/V Maesk Tarragona arriving from Caucedo, Dominican Republic.

 

On April 4, 28.5 kilos of cocaine (63 pounds) were seized on board the vessel M/V Freemantle Express also arriving from Caucedo.

 

“Every day, our officers work tirelessly to protect our nation from those that intend to do us harm by introducing dangerous drugs that could end up in our streets and communities and harm our families. Customs and Border Protection will not tire in the pursuit of those that break our laws and attempt to use commercial shipments to accomplish their damaging goals,” said Port Director for the San Juan Area Port, Maria Palmer.

 

“We have stepped up our inspection of cargo through a risk-management based, layered enforcement approach closing routes for smugglers,” indicated Marcelino Borges, Director of Field Operations for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

 

CBP uses sophisticated methods to identify and target potentially high-risk cargo, including advanced electronic information about every cargo shipment to the U.S. before it arrives.

 

CBP’s dual mission is to facilitate travel and trade in the United States while securing our borders, our people and our visitors from those that would do us harm like terrorists and terrorist weapons, criminals, and contraband. CBP officers are charged with enforcing not only immigration and customs laws, but they enforce over 400 laws for 40 other agencies and have stopped thousands of violators of U.S. law.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws."

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Customs and Border Protection "West Desert Task Force Operation Results in Dope Seizure, Vehicle Recovery"

"Tucson, Ariz. – A targeted enforcement operation focusing on transnational criminal organizations operating in the west desert resulted in the recovery of a stolen vehicle and the seizure of 1,867 pounds of marijuana Friday evening, worth an estimated $933,500

The West Desert Task Force is a collaboration between the Tucson Sector Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. In this operation, Ajo Station agents responded to detection technology and discovered an abandoned pickup truck containing 82 bundles of marijuana, weighing 1,867 pounds and worth an estimated $933,500. The bundles were transported to the Ajo Station for processing (photo available). The vehicle, reported stolen out of Phoenix, was turned over to the Tohono O’odham Police Department.

 

Partnerships with other federal, state, tribal and local agencies continue to yield significant dividends against transnational criminal organizations attempting to exploit Arizona’s border region.

 

CBP welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens can report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol and remain anonymous by calling (877) 872-7435 toll free.

All CBP assets in Arizona were realigned under a unified command structure in February 2011. Joint Field Command – Arizona unifies the Tucson and Yuma Border Patrol Sectors and Air Branches, as well as the Tucson Field Office, to enhance border security, commercial enforcement and trade facilitation missions to meet Arizona’s unique challenges. Follow us on Twitter @CBPArizona or visit the attached website for more information.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws."

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Denver Post/Breaking News "Officials: Feds nab gang members in NM meth ring"

Russell Contreras:
"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Federal agents have arrested around two dozen suspected gang members linked to what authorities are describing as a meth and heroin ring in New Mexico.

Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations are scheduled to announce details of the statewide gang roundup Wednesday at their new offices south of Albuquerque.

Homeland Security Investigations said the operation targeted known gang members in Albuquerque and Farmington near the Navajo Nation.

The roundup of gang members comes after law enforcement agencies around New Mexico have asked federal officials to assist cash-strapped departments in battling gangs, drug trafficking and weapons violations. But as federal authorities have moved into places like Roswell and Las Cruces, violent drug cartels have increased their presence in the remote area of northwest New Mexico that borders Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Federal authorities said that by getting involved and charging criminals in federal court, they can increase the amount of prison time.

In recent months, Homeland Security agents assisted local law enforcement agencies in more than 20 criminal investigations that will be prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, said Dennis Ulrich, a deputy special agent in charge of the agency's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement......

........Since 2009, Homeland Security Investigations has added around 60 new agents to New Mexico and helped formed a number of joint task forces and multiagency groups aimed at tackling rural gangs, political corruption, drug and gun trafficking, child pornography, and human smuggling......."
(Read more? Click title)


"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010"