Note: drug running tactic
23 pulled from minivan in Gilbert after car chases in SE Valley
by Brennan Smith - Jan. 6, 2012 08:25 AM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
Two car chases through Southeast Valley neighborhoods and Interstate
10 ended Friday morning after both cars were pulled over in separate
locations.
A DPS officer began following a stolen car on the westbound I-10 when
another car bumped the DPS car in an apparent attempt to draw
attention away from the stolen 2012 Dodge minivan, according to
Department of Public Safety.
The DPS officer continued following the stolen minivan and eventually
made a traffic stop along with several other DPS units near Warner
and McQueen roads in Gilbert, according to authorities.
Twenty-three people got out of the minivan and were detained by the
DPS officers.
The woman driver of the minivan was arrested on suspicion of human
smuggling and theft of a vehicle. The minivan was registered to a
rental car company out of Guadalupe.
The other car was stopped near Rural and Elliot roads in Tempe and
the two occupants also were detained, Drobnik said. The driver was
arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and theft of a vehicle.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/
2012/01/06/20120106gilbert-southeast-valley-car-chases-packed-minivan-
abrk.html#ixzz1ih3G68Ta
Border issues fair coming to Sahuarita on Jan. 13-14
Posted: Friday, January 6, 2012 8:49 am
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/border-issues-fair-coming-to-
sahuarita-on-jan/article_fe6c70d6-387d-11e1-b660-001871e3ce6c.html
Border issues fair coming to Sahuarita on Jan. 13-14 Green Valley
News Nogales International | 0 comments
Jason De Leon, a professor of anthropology at the University of
Michigan, will talk about a long-term study of the contemporary
migration of people from Northern Sonora to Southern Arizona at the
eighth annual Santa Cruz Valley Border Issues Concert and Fair on
Jan. 13-14.
Margo Cowan, a Pima County public defender and champion of migrants
rights for 25 years, also will speak.
The annual fair will be held at Good Shepherd United Church of
Christ, 17750 S. La Cañada, Sahuarita.
Entertainer/activist Holly Near, accompanied by John Bucchino, kicks
off the fair at 7 p.m. Jan. 13. Tickets for the concert are $20;
advance tickets available at the church.
Cost for the fair is $10. Attendees are asked to bring winter hats
and gloves, belts, and backpacks for those in the desert.
More information from the Rev. Randy Mayer, (520) 625-1375, or Shura
Wallin, (520) 399-1454.
Number of illegal crossing arrests at 43-year low
January 04, 2012 9:53 PM
BY JAMES GILBERT - SUN STAFF WRITER
http://www.yumasun.com/news/year-75708-yuma-border.html
The number of illegal border crossers arrested in the Yuma Sector
this fiscal year is at an all-time low, while there has also been a
decrease in the amount of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and
methamphetamines seized, according to recently released official
figures from the Border Patrol.
Yuma Sector agents apprehended 5,833 illegal crossers along its 126-
mile stretch of international border with Mexico during fiscal year
2011. Agent Spencer Tippets, of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs
Office, said the apprehension figures represent a 43-year low and 18
percent reduction from the previous year.
"It is more proof that we have operational control of the border,"
Tippets said. "There is no way to know what will happen from year to
year, but as Border Patrol agents we hope that each year we get
better and better at our jobs."
Tippets added that the last time apprehension figures were this low
was in 1968 when agents apprehended 6,004 would-be border crossers,
and there has been a reduction in apprehensions every year since
2005. Apprehensions do not necessarily depict the total number of
people illegally crossing the border, but the amount of people who
were actually caught.
Back in 2005, there were 138,000 arrests within the Yuma Sector, with
the Yuma Station being the busiest of all 146 Border Patrol stations.
Tippets said there has been a decrease in those arrests every year
except for fiscal year 2010, where there was a slight increase. There
were 7,116 arrests in 2010, 6,951 in 2009, 8,363 in 2008 and 37,992
in 2007.
Tippets said the Yuma Sector also saw decreases across the board in
the volume of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines seized
this recently completed fiscal year. Of these, he said, marijuana
remained the most seized with 31,109 pounds being confiscated — a 16
percent decrease compared with last fiscal year.
"We have seen a reduction in every type of drug we track. Drug
traffickers are still trying to smuggle their drugs, but we are still
catching them."
Tippets said the successes, not just from this year but from past
years, can be attributed to the dedicated efforts of Yuma Sector
agents, significant investments in technology, increased tactical
infrastructure and partnerships with local law enforcement agencies.
Some of those improvements over the years were a substantial increase
in personnel, deploying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft on a
regular basis to support their ground surveillance, the addition of
vehicle and pedestrian fencing, lighting and all-weather patrol
roads, as well as receiving mobile surveillance systems, trucks with
radar and cameras that can scan an entire area.
Tippets added that rescue missions continued to focus on efforts to
preserve human life in the harsh desert terrain of the Yuma Sector.
Last fiscal year, Yuma Sector agents rescued seven people who were
stranded or lost and in need of medical care and helped in the
recovery of the remains of two who had died.
This figure, Tippets said, represents a 95 percent decrease from the
high mark of 40 recoveries during fiscal year 2006. There were no
reported deaths in the Yuma Sector last fiscal year.
Other highlights from fiscal year 2011 include the August
implementation of Operation Hardball, which has Border Patrol agents
assisting customs officers at the San Luis port of entry, and the
integrated Customs and Border Protection Citizens Academy.
The Yuma Sector, together with the San Luis port and the Yuma Air
Branch, hosted the first-ever integrated academy in which 20
community members received interactive demonstrations and firsthand
knowledge of the functions, roles and responsibilities of the
individual CBP components.
Tippets said the community members learned how those components work
together to establish a secure and safe border environment, as well
as improve the quality of life for affected communities throughout
Arizona.
Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/year-75708-yuma-
border.html#ixzz1ibvT1da8
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