Note: still kind of busy on the AZMEX border, which extends, it
seems, to I-8.
Officers find $500K hidden in BMW
Posted: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 8:38 am
Officers find $500K hidden in BMW Nogales International Nogales
International | 0 comments
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/officers-find-k-hidden-in-
bmw/article_d1f4821e-46a1-11e1-9fcf-001871e3ce6c.html
Federal officers in Nogales found more than $500,000 in undeclared
U.S. currency Friday hidden in a BMW that an Arizona man was trying
to drive into Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said officers conducting outbound
inspections at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry selected the 58-
year-old Phoenix man for additional review. They subsequently put his
car on a vehicle lift and discovered a non-factory compartment
containing 21 packages of undeclared U.S. currency.
The funds were processed for seizure and the man was arrested and
turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland
Security Investigations (ICE HSI).
Also on Friday, CBP offers conducting inbound inspections at the
DeConcini port seized nearly 50 pounds of cocaine from a 42-year-old
Mexican man.
The drugs, packed into 19 packages, were allegedly found concealed in
the gas tank of the man's Chevrolet truck.
The drugs and vehicle were processed for seizure and the man was
arrested and turned over to ICE HSI
Pot valued at $1.4M found in 3 west desert locations
Posted: Jan 24, 2012 12:48 PM MST Updated: Jan 24, 2012 12:50 PM MST
By Phil Benson - email
TUCSON, AZ (KPHO) -
http://www.kpho.com/story/16590281/pot-valued-at-1
Border Patrol agents at the Ajo Station seized 2,936 pounds of
marijuana Monday found abandoned in three west-desert locations.
The pot was valued at $1,468,000, border agents said.
Ajo agents responding to suspected smuggling activity located 15
bundles of marijuana weighing 721 pounds and valued at $360,500
Monday morning.
Later in the day, agents riding all-terrain vehicles and patrolling
on foot discovered footprints leading up a remote mountain pass.
Agents continued up the pass and discovered 26 bundles of abandoned
marijuana. No smugglers were located in the area. The bundles weighed
1,232 pounds and are estimated to be worth $616,000, according to
officials.
Late Monday, agents patrolling on horseback and on ATVs discovered 20
bundles of marijuana abandoned in separate piles. Agents made the
discovery as they converged on an area of reported smuggling
activity. The bundles, valued at approximately $491,500, had a
combined weight of 983 pounds.
All of the abandoned narcotics were turned over to the Drug
Enforcement Administration for disposal.
Customs and Border Protection said citizens can report suspicious
activity to the Border Patrol and remain anonymous by calling
1-877-872-7435 toll free.
Posted: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 8:25 am
Sonora policeman busted at local port on drug charges
By Jonathan Clark
Nogales International
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/sonora-policeman-busted-at-
local-port-on-drug-charges/article_a71a8e32-469f-11e1-
bc4f-001871e3ce6c.html
A police officer from Nogales, Sonora was arrested by U.S.
authorities on Friday for allegedly trying to smuggle a load of
marijuana into the United States through the Mariposa Port of Entry.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court alleges that Ali
Geovani Inzunza Valdez, 23, was caught at the port with approximately
24 kilograms of marijuana hidden in the gas tank of his blue, 1998
Suzuki JLX sedan.
The discovery of the drugs reportedly came after Inzunza tried to
enter the United States shortly before 8 a.m. on Friday. He was
detained on one count of possessing marijuana, and one count of
possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute it.
According to the complaint, Inzunza told investigators that he had
been offered $1,800 to drive the load across the border. The drugs
have an estimated street value of $32,000.
Inzunza's status as a police officer first surfaced in the Sonoran
media over the weekend, after he was temporarily booked into the
Santa Cruz County Detention Center and reportedly listed the Nogales,
Sonora Department of Public Safety as his employer on intake documents.
On Monday, department spokesman Eleazar Álvarez confirmed to the
Nogales International that Inzunza is an active member of the force,
that he is assigned to the transit division, and that he has been
with the municipal police for a little more than two years.
The police department is aware of Inzunza's arrest and the charges
against him, Álvarez said, but since the alleged crime was committed
in another country, he would most likely be terminated by the
department's Honor, Selection and Promotion Board for missing work,
not for drug smuggling.
Still, Alvarez said, the Public Safety Department takes corruption
seriously, and is working to root out its members who collaborate
with criminal organizations. As part of that effort, he said, the
department is currently administering "reliability tests" to its
personnel.
"For us, it's very important to get the word out to the officers and
agents of our corporation that they assume the responsibility of
serving their community," he said. "We will continue in our efforts
to improve the professionalism of the police, to give them better
training, and to make them better equipped."
Inzunza is the latest active or retired Sonoran police officer to be
arrested at an Arizona port of entry in recent years. In May 2010,
U.S. officials announced that Ernesto Ibarra-Garcia, a 33-year-old
police officer from San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora had been arrested
at the U.S. port of entry at San Luis, Ariz. after officers found
approximately 35 pounds of cocaine hidden in his truck frame. And in
March 2007, officers at the Douglas port arrested Roberto Tacho
Verdugo, the 52-year-old former police chief of Naco, Sonora, for
allegedly trying to drive a minivan packed with 59 pounds of pot into
the United States.
Álvarez, the Nogales, Sonora police spokesman, lamented the damage
that arrests like Inzunza's do to a department's reputation.
"It's a personal decision by the officer to take the wrong path," he
said.
"Unfortunately, these are situations that affect us as a corporation."
Note: reference AZMEX UPDATE 22-1-12 (TXMEX)
Suspected gang members arrested after San Juan area chase
January 23, 2012 11:24 PM
Elizabeth Findell
The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/detained-58205-road-deputies.html
SAN JUAN — After a chase around San Juan on Monday afternoon, Hidalgo
County sheriff's deputies arrested two men believed to be affiliated
with a gang that shot a deputy in October, Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.
The two illegal immigrants — who authorities think are part of the
Partido Revolucionario Mexicano, or PRM, gang — were followed from a
mobile home that was under surveillance, Treviño said.
The blue Chevrolet Tahoe began to evade officers at 1:47 p.m. near
Cesar Chavez and the westbound U.S. 83 Frontage Road, according to
dispatchers. The pursuit ended close to an hour later just west of
"I" Road on the Frontage Road. The Texas Department of Public Safety,
as well as the Pharr and San Juan police departments, assisted with
the chase.
Treviño said the vehicle contained weapons including semiautomatic
rifles and handguns, a 30-pound block of marijuana and "other
assorted illegal drugs," bulletproof vests, ski masks and electronic
equipment. Some items in the vehicle may have been stolen.
"It turns out it was property taken during a home invasion that was
done last night in Mission," the sheriff said.
Authorities also searched the mobile home, in a park at 2911 N. Cesar
Chavez, which had been under surveillance as a suspected stash house,
Treviño said. Investigators found equipment possibly used in home
invasions, such as helmets, and cellophane wrapping consistent with
marijuana distribution.
Treviño said his department has been working with the FBI, U.S.
Marshals and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to investigate the
PRM, a prison gang composed of Mexican illegal immigrants
incarcerated in Texas.
The Sheriff's Office believes gang members hired by the Gulf Cartel
were responsible for wounding a deputy, Hugo Rodriguez, as he
responded to a kidnapping call in late October — an incident Treviño
called the first real incidence of spillover violence in the Valley.
The Sheriff's Office is not releasing the names of the suspects, both
described as young men. Treviño said they would probably be charged
Tuesday, but added that getting identifying information on them was
difficult. One of the men claims to be 15 years old, but authorities
think he looks older.
The sheriff called the arrests a victory for his department.
"I am keeping a promise that I made when my deputy was shot that
we're going after them," he said.
Elizabeth Findell covers Pharr, San Juan, Alamo, the Mid-Valley and
general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at
efindell@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4428.
Note: looks like Mexico has border more secure than ever also.
NEWS
Published: 24/01/2012 12:23 By: Yerson Matinez hmartinez@lacronica.com
Port free of entry of weapons: Valdecasas
http://www.lacronica.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/
24012012/568681.aspx
Today during an event at the premises of the National Chamber of
Commerce, the administrator of the office of Customs, Mexicali,
Valdecasas Frida Gonzalez confirmed that the four months of her
management, has not detected the presence of weapons or illegal
cartridges coming into Mexico. Photo: Victor Medina.
Mexicali, Baja California (PH) The administrator of the customs
office of Mexicali, Valdecasas Frida Gonzalez confirmed that the four
months of her management, has not detected the presence of weapons or
illegal cartridges entering Mexican soil.
She said that the inspections have increased, were increased from
five to seven pairs and has requested two additional inspectors.
Valdecasas Gonzalez noted that when entering the customs
administration, there were no elements of the Army as in other
booths, so this factor was incorporated with support from the
Ministry of National Defense.
Urged not to rely on statements of capos, when questioned about these
weapons that enter by the customs office of Mexicali.
More details in the print edition ...
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