Note: Drugs drugs drugs everywhere. The big sweep in valley seems
to have mostly picked up members of non latino minority group so
far. Not much in way of weapons noted so far. Group accused of drug
dealing, rip offs, home invasions, etc.
Massive Drug Sweep Across South Phoenix
Updated: Tuesday, 27 Sep 2011, 5:15 PM MST
Published : Tuesday, 27 Sep 2011, 11:05 AM MST
Adapted for the Web by
myFOXPhoenix.com Staff
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/local/phoenix/massive-drug-sweep-
across-south-phoenix-apx-09272011
PHOENIX - More than 300 officers from more than 10 agencies have
seized drugs and made 31 arrests in south Phoenix, Tempe and Avondale.
The extensive drug sweep early Tuesday, led by the Phoenix Police
Department, includes state agencies as well as the Drug Enforcement
Administration.
It's a highly unusual case. At a home in Tempe near Dorsey Lane and
Hermosa, hundreds of pairs of Nike Air Jordans -- all mens, size 11
-- were found. The basketball shoes are considered collectors items.
A vintage Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Camaro were also seized. Police
say the wheels and tires on the Camaro were each worth thousands of
dollars.
Something unusual and strange has been going on in that home and
police say this is just the tip of the iceberg. One officer told FOX
10's Steve Krafft that "Imelda Marcos didn't have this many shoes."
The widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos had over
1,000 pairs in her collection.
Elsewhere, police found a stash of cocaine hidden in a box of Ritz
crackers -- they also seized 125 pounds of marijuana and $160,000 in
cash.
The investigation began in the summer of 2009, when officers started
noticing connections between various drug dealers. With help from the
DEA, investigators tracked the vast network all over the valley.
One of those suspects is David Mosley, the alleged ringleader. He has
strong ties to Mexican cartels, police say. Attorney General Tom
Horne used the arrests to call for increased border security.
"It is not just an abstract problem on the border or a statistic. It
ends up affecting our own communities as we have seen right here in
Phoenix," said Horne.
Officers are hunting for the rest of the suspects. 71 people were
indicted, but not all have been located.
"I am proud to say that today what we did was take off the main
suppliers and sources of narcotics and illegal drugs into this city
and around the valley," said Phoenix Police Lt. Sean Connelly. "We
were amazed at the amount of communication and collaboration that
went on between these drug dealers."
Chandler woman arrested for drug smuggling
Associated Press | Posted: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 6:47 am |
Comments
http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regional/
article_c5baf757-3ebd-5f03-89a1-c69d7eae540c.html
The Pinal County Sheriff's Office says a Chandler woman has been
arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle both drugs and
suspected illegal immigrants.
Deputies conducting a traffic stop near Interstate 8 and Highway 84
near Casa Grande Monday pulled over an SUV and confiscated 300 pounds
of marijuana and detained several individuals that were suspected of
being in the United States illegally. Six people were turned over to
the U.S. Border Patrol.
Authorities say Carol Rivera is facing charges of conspiracy to
smuggling marijuana for sale and human smuggling.
$1.4 million in drugs seized near Winterhaven
September 26, 2011 5:26 PM
BY MARA KNAUB - SUN STAFF WRITER
http://www.yumasun.com/news/patrol-73286-border-vehicle.html
The U.S. Border Patrol seized $1.4 million in methamphetamine and
heroin hidden in a vehicle's engine compartment and spare tire Sunday.
The agents seized the drugs after a Border Patrol canine alerted to
the vehicle at the checkpoint on Interstate 8 near Winterhaven at
about 11:45 a.m.
The meth weighed about 42 pounds and the heroin more than 1.3 pounds,
agents reported.
The 42-year-old male suspect was driving a blue Jeep Cherokee. Border
Patrol has not released his name. The agents turned him over to the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration along with the vehicle and
narcotics.
Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or 539-6856.
Customs officer among six indicted on pot smuggling charges
Mon, 09/26/2011 - 20:53
http://www.svherald.com/content/news/2011/09/26/226089
TUCSON — A federal grand jury in Tucson has returned a 4-count
superseding indictment against U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Officer (CBPO) Luis Carlos Vasquez, 32; Victor Stuppi, 40; Jesus
Antonio Chavez-Bustamante, 25; and Karla Beatriz Prieto, 23, all of
Douglas; and Saul Lizarraga-Roldan, 37; and Marcos Abraham Sandoval-
Lizarraga, 22, both of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, for conspiracy to
possess with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent
to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to import marijuana and
importation of marijuana.
The indictment alleges that CBPO Vasquez conspired with the others
named in the indictment to import marijuana through the Douglas Port
of Entry (POE) while Vasquez was working an inspection lane. It is
also alleged that on June 17, while Vasquez was working an inspection
lane at the Douglas POE, he knowingly allowed 547 kilograms of
marijuana to pass through his inspection lane in a Chevrolet Avalanche.
"Law enforcement officials must be held to a higher standard of
conduct," stated Acting U.S. Attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel. "In the
rare and regrettable circumstance where a sworn officer crosses the
line into criminal conduct and violates their oath and the public's
trust, they will be brought to justice."
Vasquez was arrested on Friday, Sept. 23, and had his initial
appearance Monday in federal court in Tucson. Vasquez was released
pending trial on a $100,000 personal appearance bond. Stuppi has been
released on a $50,000 personal appearance bond, Prieto has been
released pending trial, Chavez-Bustamante and Lizarraga-Roldan have
been detained pending trial and Sandoval-Lizarraga remains at large.
"This indictment signifies a collaborative effort by the FBI's Border
Corruption Task Force," stated FBI Special Agent in Charge James L.
Turgal Jr., Phoenix Division. "When a law enforcement officer
participates in drug trafficking it taints the badge and memory of
all those in law enforcement who risk their lives every day to uphold
our laws and serve the public with trust and honor. The FBI,
alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively
pursue those responsible for corruption along the border and those
who violate the public's trust."
A conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
marijuana carries a maximum penalty of 40 years imprisonment with a
mandatory minimum term of five years, a $5,000,000 fine or both.
possession with intent to distribute marijuana carries a maximum
penalty of 40 years imprisonment with a mandatory minimum term of
five years, a $5,000,000 fine or both. Conspiracy to import marijuana
carries a maximum penalty of 40 years imprisonment with a mandatory
minimum term of five years, a $5,000,000 fine or both.
Importation of marijuana carries a maximum penalty of 40 years
imprisonment with a mandatory minimum term of five years, a
$5,000,000 fine or both.
In determining an actual sentence, Judge David C. Bury will consult
the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing
ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in
determining a sentence.
An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with
criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is
presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury
that established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by FBI-
Sierra Vista, ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, the FBI's
Southern Arizona Corruption Task Force, and the Douglas Police
Department. The prosecution is being handled by Joshua C. Mellor,
Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.
Ex-probation officer gets 14 years for giving info to drug smugglers
Comments 9
September 27, 2011 6:28 AM
Jared Taylor
The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/sentenced-55130-officer-edinburg.html
BACKGROUND:
Earlier chapters in this story:
July 15, 2009: Prosecutors: Probation officer bribed by drug traffickers
Dec. 2, 2009: Probation officer admits to aiding drug traffickers
BROWNSVILLE — A federal judge sent a former probation officer to
prison after he admitted to accepting bribes from drug traffickers.
Edinburg resident Armando Mora, 38, was sentenced to 14 years in
federal prison after a hearing before U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle
in Brownsville.
Mora admitted to accepting bribes and turning over confidential
information to members of an unnamed drug trafficking organization
while employed as a U.S. probation officer.
Federal investigators said the drug traffickers would turn over names
of potential drug load couriers to Mora, who would then examine the
prospective driver's criminal history and whether they had any active
arrest warrants.
The drug trafficking bosses would then decide whether they should
hire the prospective courier based on the information Mora provided.
Mora received a $5,000 bribe in July 2009 from one of the drug cartel
bosses in exchange for the sensitive information, prosecutors said.
The bribery scheme stretched between February and July 2009, when
agents seized more than 2 tons of marijuana and 500 pounds of cocaine
from the drivers hired with the information Mora provided.
Drug smugglers did not hire everyone screened by Mora. Three drivers
were dismissed by the smugglers after Mora said two candidates were
undercover agents and a third was giving information to the FBI.
Federal probation officers check criminal defendants' backgrounds and
provide pre-sentencing and bond recommendations to federal judges.
The probation officers' investigations often detail sensitive
information about the defendant's background and how he became
involved in crime.
Prosecutors, defense lawyers and the defendants have access to the
probation officers' reports even when sealed by the court. They are
not available to the general public for review.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
Jared Taylor covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor.
He can be reached at (956) 683-4439.
Smugglers making hand-offs through bars of border fence
bundles of marijuana
Investigators think these thinly-shaped bundles of marijuana were
slipped through the bars of the new barrier. Photo/anta Cruz County
Metro Task Force
Posted: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 8:48 am
JB Miller For the Nogales International | 0 comments
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/smugglers-making-hand-offs-
through-bars-of-border-fence/article_68277168-
e920-11e0-8e81-001cc4c03286.html
In another change of tactics precipitated by the new Nogales border
fence, smugglers appear to be making narcotics hand-offs from Mexico
to the U.S. through the bars of the barrier, authorities say.
Lt. Gerry Castillo of the Santa Cruz County Metro Task Force said his
office is looking into a case that began in July when investigators
discovered a number of oddly shaped bundles of marijuana during a
seizure at an undisclosed location.
He said the investigators at first thought the 48 pounds of marijuana
that had been wrapped in thin tubular packages might be "tunnel
bundles." However, upon closer examination, they discovered that the
bundles were not dirty.
That's when investigators decided that the packages had likely been
passed through the fence, which features interconnected, concrete-
filled steel tubes with an approximately 4-inch open space between them.
"Boom-boom," is how Castillo described the suspected hand-offs, in
which someone on the Mexico side quickly hands a bundle to a person
on the U.S. side before taking off.
"We block them for awhile and they come up with another plan,"
Castillo said of the cat-and-mouse game between drug smugglers and
law enforcement.
Castillo said no arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation,
but authorities have identified three people of interest.
No change
The new $11.6-million, 2.8-mile border fence was completed this past
summer following a groundbreaking in March. At the time of
construction, Border Patrol officials said the taller, stronger, more
secure barrier would allow it to station fewer agents at the fence
and deploy more of them to outlying trouble spots.
However, Agent Eric Cantu, spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson
Sector, said there has been no change of staffing at the fence area.
He added that passing contraband through the fence is nothing new and
smugglers use "any method they can conceive of."
Cantu said blocking the space between the bars with material like
steel mesh would be unproductive because smugglers would just cut
through it.
"We have to be aware of all techniques currently used and try to
mitigate through the increase of infrastructure, manpower, and
technology and also through our cooperation with other law-
enforcement partners," Cantu said.
Identifican cuerpo de cazador desaparecido en Zacatecas
Fue encontrado en una fosa donde también se encontraban otros restos,
los que podrían ser de sus compañeros desaparecidos en el 2010
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&id_nota=770823
LEÓN, Gto., 26 de septiembre.- El titular de la Procuraduría General
de Justicia del Estado (PGJE), Carlos Zamarripa Aguirre, informó que
ya fue identificado el cuerpo de uno de los cazadores leoneses
desaparecidos en Zacatecas en diciembre de 2010.
Indicó que la fiscalía estatal de Zacatecas les notificó que uno de
los cadáveres encontrados en fosas cercanas a donde se perdieron los
cazadores leoneses, se corroboró que correspondía a uno de los
guanajuatenses.
"El día de hoy tuve comunicación con el procurador de Zacatecas; me
informó que han corroborado unas muestras que nosotros le enviamos de
genética y ha sido confirmado que uno de los restos óseos que
encontraron pertenecía a uno de los cazadores", indicó.
Los restos fueron localizados en una fosa cercana a donde uno de los
sobrevivientes del grupo de cazadores señaló que estuvieron
secuestrados.
El procurador señaló que "es muy probable que ahí vayan a estar los
demás".
Los cazadores leoneses eran integrantes del Club Cinegético Casa,
Tiro y Pesca "Aldama", que tiene sus oficinas en la colonia El
Coecillo, en la Zona Piel. Todos se dedican a la venta de calzado.
La PGJE informó que los desaparecidos son Ernesto Cordero Anguiano,
de 37 años de edad, quien es militar retirado; su hermano Diego
Cordero Anguiano, de 47; su sobrino Juan Diego Cordero Valdivia, de
22, y Alan Josué Bocanegra López, de 19.
Asimismo, Sergio Sánchez Pérez, de 32; Mario Alberto Reyes, de 26;
José Javier Martínez, de 46, y Héctor González Cervantes, de 37.
La familia de los desaparecidos refirió ante la fiscalía estatal que
el grupo de comerciantes de calzado iba frecuentemente de cacería a
los estados de Guanajuato, Jalisco y Zacatecas.
También solicitaron que la investigación fuera atraída por la
Procuraduría General de la República (PGR).
jgm
2011-09-26 22:20:00
Aseguran militares siete millones de pesos a un automovilista
Delfino Martínez Rivera, "El Demonio", fue detenido en Coahuila por
delincuencia organizada y lavado de dinero
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&id_nota=770688
MONCLOVA, Coah., 26 de septiembre.- Personal de la Secretaria de la
Defensa Nacional (Sedena) logró el aseguramiento de casi siete
millones de pesos y la detención de un sujeto identificado como
Delfino Martínez Rivera, alias "El Demonio", por su probable
responsabilidad en delitos de delincuencia organizada y operaciones
con recursos de procedencia ilícita.
Los Militares, del Décimo Primer Batallón de Infantería, al realizar
un operativo de inspección sobre la Avenida del bulevar Estadio cruce
con República de Chile, en la colonia Guadalupe, de la ciudad de
Monclova, Coahuila, notaron la presencia de un vehículo, Nissan
Platina, color rojo, sin placas de circulación, conducido por
Martínez Rivera, quien al notar la presencia de los uniformados
intento darse a la fuga.
Finalmente fue sometido cuadras más adelante, en la cajuela de la
unidad fueron localizados una maleta de color negro y una bolsa de
mano que contenían diversos paquetes de billetes, que tenían escrito
con marcador negro diversas cantidades que al sumarse arrojaron la
cantidad de 6 millones de 907 mil 155 pesos.
También le fueron decomisadas una computadora y una impresora HP; Un
juego de placas de circulación del estado de Nuevo León y 14 paquetes
de sobres.
Por lo anterior la dependencia puso a disposición del Ministerio
Público Federal al detenido, al vehículo y la cantidad asegurada para
iniciar la indagatoria y ejercer la acción penal respectiva.
jgm
2011-09-26 13:50:00
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