NotiMx

lunes, 13 de febrero de 2017

Two Apprehended With Nearly $1.7M in Drugs

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested two people involved in separate weekend attempts to smuggle a combined $1.7 million in cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine through the Port of Nogales.

Officers working with CBP canines made two seizures on Saturday, beginning with 88 pounds of heroin worth approximately $1.5 million and 8 pounds of cocaine worth more than $90,000; seized from a 50-year-old woman from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. The woman attempted to enter the U.S. at the Mariposa crossing in a Hyundai SUV.

The amount of heroin seized Saturday represents the second largest heroin seizure by CBP officers from the Tucson Field Office. The largest seizure, 101 pounds worth more than $1.76 million, occurred in October 2000 at the San Luis Port of Entry.

Shortly after the Mariposa seizure, officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing seized more than 30 pounds of methamphetamine, valued in excess of $96,000. Officers found the drugs in a Ford SUV driven by a 56-year-old male resident alien living in Willcox, Arizona.

Officers seized all drugs and vehicles used in the smuggling attempts, and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring 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.

-CBP-

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

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San Luis CBP Officers Bust Meth Smugglers

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TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of San Luis arrested two U.S. citizens recently for separate attempts to smuggle a combined $140,000 worth of methamphetamine into the United States.

A CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted officers to a Chrysler sedan Friday, driven by a 19-year-old man. Officers searched the vehicle and found more than 20 pounds of meth concealed in the front fenders.

On Saturday, a CBP canine alerted officers to the rocker panels of a Honda sedan, driven by a 20-year-old woman. Officers removed nearly 25 pounds of meth from the vehicle.

Although both subjects are U.S. citizens, they are residents of San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. Officers seized the drugs and vehicles, and referred both subjects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

-CBP-

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Operation Stonegarden Leads to Meth Seizure

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers seized more than 34 pounds of methamphetamine, worth almost $103,000, during a joint operation with Tucson Sector Border Patrol on Jan. 18.

While participating in “Operation Stonegarden”, DPS troopers stopped a vehicle on I-10 and obtained the driver’s consent to search the vehicle. As a result, troopers found the narcotics hidden in a concealed compartment within the rear seat.

The driver, a female U.S. citizen, was arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail pending state prosecution.

Operation Stonegarden is a multi-agency collaborative effort among law enforcement agencies along the southern Arizona border, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security.

An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens can report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol by calling 1-877-872-7435 toll free. All calls will be answered and remain anonymous.

~CBP~

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Douglas CBP Officers Seize $150K in Marijuana

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Mexican national Wednesday for an alleged attempt to smuggle nearly 300 pounds of marijuana through the Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry in Douglas, Arizona.

Officers arrested the man, from Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, after a CBP narcotics-detection canine led officers to find approximately $150,000 worth of marijuana hidden throughout her Ford SUV, including the vehicle’s roof.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, and turned the subject over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

-CBP-

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Operation Countermeasure Leads to Heroin Seizure

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Tucson, Ariz. – Pima County Sheriff Deputies and Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents seized 7.5 pounds of heroin, valued at almost $131,000, during a joint operation Jan. 17.

While participating in “Operation Countermeasure”, deputies and agents stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. During the encounter, the driver consented to a search of the vehicle that led to the discovery of narcotics hidden in an ice chest within the vehicle’s cargo area.

The driver, a male U.S. citizen, was arrested and booked into the Pima County Detention Facility on charges of possession and transportation of a dangerous drug for sale.

Operation Countermeasure is a multi-agency cooperative effort among law enforcement agencies along the southern Arizona border.

An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

~CBP~

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UPDATE: Tucson Sector Border Patrol Agent’s Vehicle Shot

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Tucson, Ariz. – Cochise County prosecutors have charged two juvenile boys with endangerment and felony criminal damage in connection with the Dec. 30, 2016 shooting of a Border Patrol vehicle near Sierra Vista, Arizona.

The investigation was kicked off after a United States Border Patrol vehicle was shot at Friday December 30, 2016, at approximately 5:30 p.m. MST. The agent, who was not injured, was operating a mobile surveillance unit south of Sierra Vista, Arizona, at the time of the incident.

The agent did not return fire.

Multiple Customs and Border Protection personnel and local law enforcement responded to the area in an effort to locate the suspects who fled on foot.

The suspects remained at large until the parents of the two boys, ages 15 and 16, contacted authorities after recognizing them in a picture of the suspects that was publicly posted by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation.

~CBP~

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Tucson Air Branch helps FBI with AMBER Alert

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Two teams from the Air and Marine Operation’s Tucson Air Branch (TAB), responding to an Amber Alert released today out of Chandler, Arizona, joined with the FBI and Navajo Nation police to locate a missing girl, and detain a male suspect involved in her disappearance.

The Amber Alert was issued Jan. 16 for a 15-year-old girl last seen in Chandler, Arizona.

After the FBI obtained information on the girl’s possible location on the Navajo Nation, the TAB launched two aircrews to help the FBI and Navajo Nation Police Department search for the girl and man suspected of taking her.

A TAB helicopter had to land several times while tracking the duo, according to one pilot. “Again and again we would find their trail, track it, lose it, land to find it again, take off to follow it and lose it again.”

Searchers eventually located the man and girl north of Tuba City. The FBI took the man into custody and the girl was reunited with her family.

“This is an example of how Air and Marine Operations is ready to assist its partner law enforcement agencies when needed,” said Tucson Air Branch Director Mitch Pribble.

Several other agencies were also involved in the search effort, including the Chandler Police Department, Coconino County Sheriff's Office, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Page Police Department.

The Amber Alert Program, named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year old girl abducted while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and later found murdered, is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies and the wireless industry. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe return of the child, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

~CBP~

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and

between official ports of entry. CBP’s mission includes keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. Follow us on Twitter @CBPArizona.

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