PHARR, TX– On August 7th, at a Texas-Mexico
border crossing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and
Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers discovered over $19
million in methamphetamines in a commercial shipment of
produce.
Another major meth seizure by
CBP officers in South Texas, this time nearly 1,000 pounds hidden
within the floor of a tractor-trailer. Read how we’re stepping up
our efforts to stop drugs at our borders during the pandemic in
@CBP‘s
Frontline magazine: https://t.co/YArZ4QDDuC https://t.co/APHHQhT3i5— CBP Mark Morgan (@CBPMarkMorgan)
August 14, 2020
In a
media release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said
that a 29-year-old man, a Mexican citizen from Reynosa Tamaulipas,
Mexico arrived at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo
facility driving a tractor trailer containing a commercial shipment
of produce.
The
driver was referred for a secondary inspection, upon which CBP
officers discovered 521 packages of methamphetamine weighing 922
pounds.
The illegal narcotics were concealed within the floor of the
trailer. The narcotics and tractor trailer were seized.
The driver was arrested and the case was turned over to Homeland
Security Investigations for further investigation. Port Director
Carlos Rodriguez said in a statement:
“This is another significant strike our officers have
made on the methamphetamine smuggling industry. Large seizures like
this one underscore the severity of the drug threat and show that
our officers remain fiercely dedicated to upholding our border
security mission.â€
On August 7th, in Laredo, Texas U.S. CBP and OFO officers at the
Juarez-Lincoln Bridge intercepted cocaine totaling more than
$347,000 in street value. In a
media release, CBP said that an CBP officer referred a 2010
Chevrolet Impala for a secondary inspection.
CBP officers in Laredo seized
$347K in cocaine from a vehicle following K9 and non-intrusive
imaging system examinations on August 7. Details via @CBPSouthTexas:
https://t.co/emBGZlOIib
pic.twitter.com/H5TdKDy2xZ— CBP (@CBP)
August 14, 2020
According to the release, the car was driven by a 22-year-old
male United States citizen making entry from Mexico. Following a
canine and non-intrusive imaging system examination, a total of 17
packages containing 45.10 pounds of cocaine were found concealed
within the vehicle.
CBP seized the narcotics, the driver was arrested, and the case
was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special
agents for further investigation. Port Director Andrew Douglas
said:
“Drug smugglers will go to extreme lengths to ensure
their illegal contraband avoids detection. CBP officers remain
dedicated to our border security mission and apply an effective mix
of information sharing and inspection skill and experience to seize
narcotics loads like these.â€
This weekend, CBP Officers
along our SWB locations discovered and seized more than 560lbs of
methamphetamine, 143lbs of cocaine, and 25lbs of fentanyl. Proud of
@CBP’s
frontline remaining vigilant, and focused, 24/7, in safeguarding
our borders and protecting the homeland. pic.twitter.com/P8OQXZPrL9— Dep Executive Asst. Commissioner Diane J. Sabatino
(@OFODEAC)
August 17, 2020
Those were not the only two recent narcotic busts CBP has
recently made. In Brownsville, Texas, CBP officers at the Veterans
International Bridge intercepted a load of alleged methamphetamine
that was hidden within a 2006 Ford F-150 pick-up truck.
According to the
news release, on August 11th, a 22-year-old female United
States citizen applied for entry into the U.S. while driving a
white 2006 Ford F-150 pick-up truck. Upon request, the vehicle was
referred for a secondary investigation after a primary inspection
was completed.
CBP officers seized 38lbs of
methamphetamine—valued at $768K—in a pickup truck at
Brownsville Port of Entry Tuesday. Learn more via @CBPSouthTexas:
https://t.co/KRT5jinxyR
pic.twitter.com/y5YsHn2Sc0— CBP (@CBP)
August 17, 2020
With the aid of a non-intrusive imagine system and a canine
unit, CBP officers discovered seven packages containing a total of
38.44 pounds of alleged methamphetamine. The estimated street value
from the seizure was $768,964.
CBP officers seized the narcotics as well as the pick-up truck.
The driver was arrested and Homeland Security Investigations
special agents will investigate further. Port Director Tater Ortiz
said:
“This significant seizure illustrates the importance
of remaining vigilant and show the commitment our CBP officers have
in keeping these dangerous narcotics off our
streets.â€
The seizing of illegal narcotics doesn’t stop there. In San
Diego, CSP officers working at the ports of entry in San Diego and
Imperial Valley counties intercepted more than $61 million worth of
narcotics including 668 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a
cactus shipment, almost 15,000 pounds of marijuana in a shipment of
limes, and a spare tire with fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine
hidden inside.
In the
news release, CBP said that on August 7th a tractor trailer
arrived at the Otay Mesa cargo facility with a shipment manifested
as cactus. A CBP canine team screened the shipment and alerted the
officers to a pallet of cactus pads.
WOW! More than $61 million
worth of narcotics seized – vigilance was sure a strong play this
weekend. The San Diego Field Office #CBP
officers’ interceptions and hard work make us PROUD! Read more
here: https://t.co/en74FMvJo9
pic.twitter.com/i3YDlkWAoV— Director of Field Operations Pete Flores (@DFOSanDiegoCA)
August 12, 2020
Packages wrapped with green tape were found inside among the
pads. The narcotics street value had an estimated street value of
$1.5 million. Port Director Pete Flores said:
“International drug trafficking organizations will use
whatever means they can think of to try and move their illicit
shipments into the U.S. CBP officers dedicate their careers to
protecting our country by securing the border. For them, these
unusual seizures are all in a day’s work.â€
Check out this article from Law Enforcement Today about the
consistent and excellent work of CBP officers protecting
America’s borders:
SAN DIEGO, CA – Next time someone tells you
there’s no border crisis, show them this.
The Otay Mesa Port of Entry lies in between San Diego California
and Tijuana Mexico and serves as an entry/exit port for the
country.
Legally, billions of dollars worth of commercial goods come
through the port every year.
However, illegally, drug traffickers try to use this route to
bring drugs into the United States from Mexico, which is what
federal officials say happened when they stopped a tractor-trailer
on Thursday morning of last week and seized 300 pounds of illegal
narcotics.
Customs and Border Protection stopped a semi which was legally
carrying recycled cardboard.
Instead of just sending the truck through the entry port,
federal officers sent it to an area to be scanned and examined.
When this was conducted, CBP
observed what they classified was an anomaly inside the cab of the
truck.
Upon manual inspection, federal officers lifted the sleeper
compartment and located two black duffel bags which were concealed
inside. A search of those bags yielded 64 cellophane-wrapped
packages, and inside those were 59 packages which contained
methamphetamine, and the remaining 5 had fentanyl.
The heroin weighed 286 pounds, the fentanyl weighed 26
pounds.
For context, in the State of Florida, anything over 4 grams is
considered trafficking because of how small the doses are from
those drugs.
Credit CBP
The driver was not identified, other than to say he is 36 years
old and a Mexican citizen.
He was arrested and turned over to Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement for processing. Pete Flores, Director of Field
Operations for CBP in San Diego said in a statement:
“Even in the midst of a global pandemic, we continue
to see attempts to move hard narcotics across the border and into
US communities. CBP officers at all of our nation’s legal border
crossings remain on the job and vigilant during these unprecedented
times.â€
The DEA
lists fentanyl as extremely dangerous and is widely considered to
be 50 times more potent than heroin. A very small amount can kill
whoever touches or ingests the chemical in some way.
Drug traffickers are utilizing the drug to produce a bigger high
for their customers when mixing it in with the heroin. In some
areas in Florida, it is rare to find real heroin anymore,
typically, law enforcement finds either straight fentanyl or mainly
fentanyl with a little amount of heroin.
Acting Administrator for the DEA, Chuck Rosenberg, recently
produced a video in which he describes the danger associated with
fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is deadly. Exposure to an amount equivalent
to a few grains of sand can kill you. You can be in grave danger
even if you unintentionally come into contact with
fentanyl.
In a recent article from
Law Enforcement Today, the month of June saw a 40% increase in
the arrests of illegal aliens and drugs coming into the country
from Mexico.
Acting Customs and Border Patrol Chief mark
Morgan said they are concerned with the growing numbers.
Even more concerning is the amount of people who are coming into
the country who may be carrying COVID-19. Customs and Border
Protection also announced recently that officers, in addition to
this article, have seized in total, 43,000 pounds of illegal drugs
at the ports of entry along the California and Mexico border.
They estimate the street value for the drugs to be around $92
million.
Credit CBP
CBP revealed they have seized 34,685 pounds of marijuana, 7,661
pounds of methamphetamine, 635 pounds of cocaine, 166 pounds of
heroin, and 165 pounds of fentanyl.
People who have been caught bringing drugs into the country have
done so by concealing them in secret compartments in their vehicles
located in various places, like their gas tank, trunks, seats, and
the quarter panels.
They also have concealed them on their person utilizing ‘body
suits’ and, in some cases, placed them inside their bodies by
various means.
We suspected the media wasn’t telling America about what’s
really happening at the border. We were right.
Editor note: At the bottom of the article is
the exclusive video that our team at Law Enforcement Today created
in partnership with our friends at Inforce.
Special thanks to Art Del Cueto for giving a true look at what
it takes to defend America… and to Inforce for helping keeping
those who serve and protect safe.
—
Charles Dickens may have said it best in the opening paragraph
of his novel A Tale of Two Cities.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times.â€
While it was set historically against the French Revolution and
contrasted London and Paris, it strikes amazingly true when used to
contrast what we are experiencing right here in America, right
now.
If Dickens were alive today, he could change the title to A Tale
of Two Americas.
The contrast?
The amazing success that we are seeing as a nation under the
current administration versus the all-out assault we are facing on
our southern border.
Recently, a tour was conducted at that very location. The tour
guide was Art Del Cueto, National Vice President of the Border
Patrol Council. A segment of this tour and the conversation with
our guide can be seen below.
Here is a little about Art’s career.
Art has been with Border Patrol since 2003. His first duty
station was Casa Grande, Arizona, where he helped in the effort to
establish a new substation at Three Points, Arizona.
Throughout most of his career, he patrolled on the Tohono
O’odham reservation, assisting on numerous drug and smuggling
cases.
He responds to over 90% of all significant incidents within the
Tucson Sector including shootings, accidents, and agent assaults.
As an agent who is fluent in Spanish, he routinely leads the
questioning of apprehended subjects.
Art has also worked for the National Border Patrol Council for
the last ten years. He currently serves as President of Local 2544.
Prior to working for Border Patrol, Art worked for a
maximum-security state prison in Tucson. Art has lived most of his
life in Arizona.
On this particular tour, Agent Del Cueto takes us back even
further than his CBP days.
“I grew up in a small town, a border town called
Douglas, Arizona. I grew up seeing border patrol do their job,â€
he said. “I’ve always seen border patrol out here, I’ve
always seen law enforcement, and I have always gravitated towards
that.â€
Art was born in Mexico. His father was an immigrant who came to
the US legally.
“My dad always taught us to be grateful to be in this
country,†Del Cueto said. “I think that was the foundation that
helped me get to where I am constantly at.â€
“I grew up on the border, I was born on the border, I
was raised on the border, I’ve worked on the border,†he
continues. “I know what is happening out here.â€
So, what exactly are the types of things he is referring to when
he says he knows what is happening?
This week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued the
following press release.
The headline reads: Recently Convicted Child Sex Offender
Arrested by Border Patrol Agents.
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a previously deported child
sex offender near Sasabe Thursday afternoon.
The hamlet of Sasabe,
Arizona.
Tucson Sector agents patrolling the desert apprehended
22-year-old Alexander Morales-Domingo, a Guatemalan national,
around 6 p.m.
Records checks revealed Morales-Domingo was convicted of lewd or
lascivious behavior/lewd or lascivious battery – sexual act with
a person 12-15 years of age in Collier County, Florida, December 6,
2019. He was sentenced to five years’ probation and ordered
removed from the country December 26, 2019.
As a previously deported sex offender, Morales-Domingo faces
federal prosecution for criminal immigration violations.
All persons apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol undergo
criminal history checks using biometrics to ensure illegal aliens
with criminal histories are positively identified.
So, in a matter of 60 days, an illegal immigrant was convicted
of sexual misconduct of a minor in Florida, was removed from the
country and was subsequently arrested 2,310 miles away, back in the
US.
This case is just one of a thousand stories we could tell about
the struggle at our border to keep our citizenry safe.
But it strikes at the heart of what Del Cueto sees every
day.
Continuing his tour, he said that they have better structure
where he is than a lot of other areas have.
Pointing to the 15’ tall fence and the razor wire, he said
that the wire was added when President Trump stepped up and
dedicated resources to better secure our border.
Del Cueto said that a common occurrence was seeing groups who
would come up to the fence and weld small pieces of metal to the
south side of the fence and make a ladder. Then they would just
repel down.
“What I want people to understand is, it’s not just
a bunch of dumb farmers over there (pointing across the border
towards Mexico) doing this,†said the veteran agent. “They are
very organized. It is a very organized criminal
organization.â€
He pointed to one of the major flaws in our current immigration
system.
You can be a convicted criminal in your own country, guilty of
heinous crimes, but if you have never been to the U.S. and
committed a crime, you come here, CBP will run you through the
system and your record shows clean, not knowing what crimes you may
have committed in your own country or others.
“We have people renting their kids out in Mexico,
because they know that exposes a loophole in immigration,†stated
a frustrated Del Cueto. “You cannot detain these children for
more than 20 days. Then the child goes back to Mexico, where they
will rent them out again.â€
He continues:
“This area has been notorious for drugs coming into
the country for as long as I can remember.â€
He called these smugglers (both humans and drugs) extremely
sophisticated, pointing to the types of technology that they
use.
Two examples: they have night vision, and they set up
communications via towers and even underground telephone trunk
cables for long range capabilities.
Describing the depths of the problem at our border, he recounted
one particular experience.
“I specifically can tell you, that I have seen the
same guy, a Mexican national, during the last administration
(Barack..
