Crime and Public Safety | Drug busts in DC area, 7 states linked to Sinaloa cartel; drugs, guns, $5.4 million seized. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. MIAMI - South Florida federal prosecutors have charged the leader of a notorious Mexican drug cartel and five others for their alleged roles in importing into the United States over 500 kilograms of Mexican methamphetamine. We need more vessels, more boats, more drones.". In January 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Dallas division reported the largest methamphetamine and heroin seizure in the branch's history. Cargo trucks line up to cross into the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry near the border in Tijuana on April 2, 2019. Eloy Romero was convicted on one count each of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of Cruz Lopez-Acevedo was sentenced to 14 years in prison. But the suspect deputies say had. Federal court documents reveal that the fentanyl recently seized by the FBI likely comes from the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for not less than ten years or more than life and a $10 million fine. A DEA Task Force executed warrants at five locations in Albuquerque, including the residences of Seibel, Pettit, and Dockery. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Overdoses from synthetic opioids like fentanyl have soared inthe United States, and fentanyl accountsfor the majority of synthetic opioid deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When law enforcement agencies combine resources and assets, we are able to bring illegal narcotic traffickers to justice, said Chief Pete Kassetas of the New Mexico State Police. In addition, the Las Cruces and El Paso offices of Homeland Security Investigations, Dona Ana County Sheriffs Office, Las Cruces Police Department and Sunland Park Police Department participated in todays law enforcement operation. ), Lakers vs. Warriors: What scouts expect in playoff series, Decades of failures leave L.A. County facing up to $3 billion in sex abuse claims, L.A. Affairs: I had my reasons for not dating white men. HOPEs law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorneys Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. "It is one thing to spray a plant and some human beings who are economically weak, and another thing is to pursue the drug trafficking business community, which is done through intelligence work, tracing their assets and their money, and which is done through intersection," he said. Lock In March, the 24-year-old from Houston was arrested after an X-ray and further inspection at a port of entry in Laredo, Texas, uncovered nearly 127 pounds of liquid methamphetamine concealed in the gas tank of the SUV she was driving, court documents said. Quintana-Arias manifest indicated his trailer contained auto body parts, but anomalies were detected in the trailer by both an X-ray machine and a drug-sniffing dog, according to the complaint. Ivonne Briseno-Lopez, 26, of El Paso, Texas, was arrested this morning and will be charged by criminal complaint with participating in the money laundering conspiracies charged in the indictment. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. In the September 1 bust, the FBI partnered with local police and other federal agents to seize the large quantity of fentanyl. City News Service contributed to this report. The charges are the result of a 16-month DEA-led investigation during which law enforcement authorities seized approximately 30 kilograms of heroin, 64 kilograms of methamphetamine, 17 kilograms of cocaine, 20 kilograms of marijuana, 24 firearms, $102,000 in currency, and three vehicles. , Photos: Sky News 13 flies over Good Friday pilgrimages, PHOTOS: Storm moves through New Mexico leaving snow, Snow causes difficult driving conditions across NM, Map: New Mexico Veterans Monuments and Memorials, BestReviews.com - Top gifts to make everyone happy this spring, Surprise your mom with one of these Mothers Day, Mothers Day inspo: This foot massager has 20,000, Drew Barrymores Walmart collection is perfect for, Best Mothers Day gifts for the budding plant mom, 13 Broadcast Pl SW, Albuquerque, NM, 87104, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. During a traffic stop involving a refrigerated tractor-trailer, law enforcement found 1,950 pounds of drugs (worth about $45 million), making it the biggest methamphetamine seizure in North Texas. prosecutions against drug dealers in Southeastern New Mexico and the Espaola Valley. An official website of the United States government. In addition to the drugs, authorities recovered several guns from the suspected stash house in San Jose, according to prosecutors. SAN JOSE Federal authorities say they raided a stash house here containing 588 pounds of methamphetamine, part of a series of seizures that yielded some 650 pounds of the drug in total. In August, federal authorities made what they then called likely the largest meth bust in U.S. history, finding more than 5,528 pounds of the drug inside a big rig that crossed from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. She worked at the newspaper from 2009 to 2012, and worked at NBC San Diego from 2013 to 2018 before returning to the paper. April 4, 2023. Fax (505) 346-7296. Rosa M. De Santiago, 43, of Sunland Park, N.M., is charged in Counts 1- 2 and 36-40 of the indictment. A grand jury returned an indictment against the defendants Feb. 25. Customs and Border Protection figures show the agency seized nearly 92,000 poundsof drugs from vehicles at southern ports of entry between October 2020 and May. Arrests of U.S. citizens who bring drugs through in their bodies also have risen. Though illegal substances brought in by that type of courier represent just a fraction of the overall drugs crossing into the U.S., those apprehensions in fiscal year 2018 were more balanced between U.S. citizens and non-citizens at 467 vs. 386, respectively, Customs and Border Protection data shows. Santa Clara: Investigation underway into attempted bank robbery, Pleasanton: Suspects sought in fatal stabbing during robbery attempt, Attacks on delivery drivers add to gig workers fears, Search for missing Oklahoma teens leads to house, 7 dead, U.S. Attorneys office announced that 1,000, Harriette Cole: My friend's mom didn't recognize me at my job, and she was very rude. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org. The indictment also includes forfeiture allegations, which seek to forfeit to the United States the proceeds of the DTOs drug trafficking and money-laundering activities, including $56,556 seized by the DEA during the investigation. 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This entire investigation is a perfect example of an interdiction that continued into a perfectly executed investigation through a unified effort., The results of this multi-agency operation reflects greatly on the partnership and commitment of dedicated men and women to combat the poisoning of our communities with highly addictive and dangerous drugs, said Waldemar Rodriguez, Special Agent in Charge of HSI El Paso. Agents then learned that Daniel Verduzco fled the United States to Mexico via plane on November 17, 2020, which coincided with the day of another major law enforcement takedown of a drug trafficking organization in the Bay Area. Instead of awar on drugs, Petrofavors expanding crop substitution programs that would provide rural farmers with incentives and training to grow legal crops. Vanessa Reyes, 26, of El Paso, Tex., is charged in Counts 1-2 and 29-31 of the indictment. It needs us all to build a better society, a more supportive, more affectionate society.. A photo from federal court documents show the drugs, cash, and firearms seized. The criminal complaint charges Maria Isabel Reyes, 37, and Roberta Guillermina Ornelas, 38, both of Horizon City, Tex., with conspiracy and possession of more than a pound of heroin with intent to distribute. District of New Mexico The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. Rodriguez has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive. We rely on each other to help keep our communities safe from those who defy our laws., Through partnerships within our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, those communities and families affected by criminal activity can rest assured, that at the end of the day, we are all here to Serve and Protect. Arellano Felix was extradited from Mexico in August 2012 to face US charges. Legal Statement. Last week, a federal magistrate allowed Sanchez-Pedraza and Portillo to be freed on $50,000 bonds, court records show. HOPEs law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorneys Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., staged a news conference at theU.S.-Mexico border in February and charged that Biden's border policies have alloweddeadly drugs like fentanyl to enter the country illegally. This time, investigators tailed suspected drug dealers and pulled them over when they were believed to have methamphetamine in their cars. U.S. citizens had been apprehended about 2,400 times by late March for drug smuggling during inspections of vehicles crossing those checkpoints. Jose Mendoza Counts 1, 2, 9, 10, 11 and 12. 0:00. The citizens of New Mexico are safer today because of the collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies. In the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, Americans were caught roughly twice as often as Mexicans. "The perception is that U.S. citizens are given less scrutiny by Border Patrol and CBP," said Michael Corbett, who worked at the Drug Enforcement Administration for 30 years and is now a narcotics expert witness. Despite early pandemic disruptions to the global drug trade, illegal substances have since been pouring into the U.S. the world's largest consumer of them. Quintana-Arias was arraigned in San Diego federal court on Friday on two counts of importation of a controlled substance. Deputies and members of an FBI task force seized about 18,000 pills along with meth, heroin and other substances after getting a tip Ingram would regularly travel from Arizona to New Mexico with narcotics and would distribute them in the Albuquerque area, authorities said. The 44-count indictment, which was filed under seal on April 19, 2017 and unsealed earlier today, alleges that the 23 defendants charged therein participated in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine between April 2016 and April 2017. "Prosecution of those who manufacture and distribute these illicit and dangerous narcotics is and must remain a top priority for the District of New Mexico." "The drug trafficking organizations that produce and distribute these potentially-lethal counterfeit pills containing fentanyl care only about one thing: maximizing profits," said . Sheriff Manuel Gonzales said in a statement that such operations in Albuquerque continue to produce results that are helping to make the community safer. In addition to the 650 pounds of methamphetamine, federal authorities seized 15 pounds of heroin, prosecutors said in court papers. All six defendants were arrested and remain in custody pending detention hearings. Ask Amy: My fiancee's family says I'm not invited, and she's going without me, Ask Amy: I put a security camera in my room, and what I saw was creepy, The dad whose wife and child were among 5 killed by a neighbor in Texas describes how the massacre unfolded, 'Total dominance': Steph Curry breaks NBA Game 7 record, leads Warriors over Kings, Dear Abby: The reason her fiance hid his phone was something she never guessed, Mortgage fees to rise for buyers with high credit scores, fall for those with lower scores, Kurtenbach: Steph Curry built the Warriors dynasty. A locked padlock The information that led to Thursdays bust stemmed from a recent gang intelligence operation. The rules have been extended until at least June 21, but Mexican authorities have allowed most U.S. citizens to walk or drive south across the border with relative ease. Flores was arrested this morning in Anthony. or redistributed. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Devils blank Rangers in Game 7, face Canes in second, Harden scores 45, hits late 3 as 76ers down Celtics, Met Gala: Rihanna, Jared Leto as Choupette, Kim K., Serena Williams, Karlie Kloss reveal pregnancies, Phillies slugger Harper expected to return to lineup, Braves slugger Ronald Acua Jr. exits game after, 13 Broadcast Pl SW, Albuquerque, NM, 87104, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Brittney Griner says shell only play overseas again if its the Olympics Twenty-three of the 28 defendants are charged in a 44-count indictment, three are charged in two separate criminal complaints, and two will be charged in criminal complaints being filed today. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Mryna Montemayor, a public defender representing Barboza, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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