|
|
|
you are here
|
To stay informed, subscribe to our RSS feeds, book mark us, or even better,
you are here We Are National Voice/Pine Level News Gazette Home of
The cat with 10 lives
webmasterb@nationalvoicesite.com
God bless the Republic! El Paso - Marty Robbins you are
here We Are National Voice/Pine Level News Gazette Home of
To stay informed, subscribe to our
RSS feeds, book mark us, or even better,
webmasterb@nationalvoicesite.com 
Law Enforcement Today
Law Enforcement Today is a new international web community developed by law enforcement officers for the law enforcement community, family members, friends & those who support law enforcement!
Disorder On The Border
Stories Of Illegal immigration, drugs, violence and corruption. Mexican Gangs Control Parts of Arizona Mexican Gang Threatens Arizona Police Mexican Gangs Taking Over America Mexico 'drug enforcer admits 1,500 killings' Senator Durbin wants ILLEGALS to be PRESIDENT! from Webmaster B. javamanmonk: he must have forgotten that Obama is an illegal 40 People Killed In Mexico, 10 Found Headless In Car Trunk ICE Union President 'Our Hands Are Tied With Regulations' Obama Administration Caught Arming Mexican Illegal Alien Rebels March 31, 2011 (MMD Newswire) -- One of America's largest border enforcement advocacy organizations is calling on supporters to demand that Congress use investigations, prosecutions, impeachments, military tribunals, and treason charges if necessary to bring justice to those who betrayed American citizens by arming drug and illegal alien importing invaders. Arming Mexican Illegal Alien Rebels Fast and Furious A.T.F. Gun Sale to Mexican Criminals, investigation ATF Fires 'Fast And Furious' Whistleblower Employment agency owner sentenced in scheme to recruit undocumented workers in Atlanta, Southeast US ATLANTA (MMD Newswire) April 1, 2011 -- Chun Yan Lin, 44, of Doraville, Ga., was sentenced Thursday in federal court for conspiring to transport and harbor illegal aliens, following a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Guards On The Border Obama seeks immigration reform "We Want Obama To Act Like A Democrat!" from Webmaster B. javamanmonk: Let's face it peeps, the dream, not happening. The Federal government needs to seal the border, because crime from south of the border is spreading at an alarming rate, nation wide. See the videos below. The people already in the U.S. will be judged on their own merits, by people in their own community. We do not need the federal government intervening locally. 13 People Killed In Gunbattle On Texas Border Lake La Raza Student Mob Shuts Down Tucson School Board Meeting 'Americans Stole Our Land' - AZ Senator Reads Shocking Letter from Teacher LA RAZA THUGS TERRORIZE KIDS and SHOOT 15 Y O GIRL IN HEAD... Mexican Mafia Targets L.A. Blacks 9 Headless Bodies Found in Mexican Border City Agents Seize Another 500 Pounds of Dope in Garciasville Garciasville, Texas (MMD Newswire) January 6, 2011 -- U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station seized more than 500 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of $460,000 early this morning. Agents assigned to the Bike Patrol observed several subjects carrying large bundles of narcotics on their backs walking north through the brush near Garciasville, Texas. As Border Patrol agents approached the smugglers, they noticed a Blue Chevrolet Impala approach the gate at the end of the street. As the agents confronted the subjects, they immediately dropped their cargo and fled before they could load the bundles into the vehicle. Responding agents were able to apprehend the two subjects in the vehicle. The case was turned over to agents of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HITDA), they assumed custody of the narcotics, the vehicle and the driver. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. Mexican national sentenced to more than 5 years in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States PANAMA CITY, Fla. (MMD Newswire) December 2, 2010 -- A convicted criminal alien, who had been previously deported, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on Wednesday to 64 months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after being deported. Mario Ruiz-Toledo, 22, a Mexican national, was arrested on Feb. 2 following an investigation by the Bay County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) into multiple burglaries in Bay County, Fla. BCSO alerted special agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) about Ruiz-Toledo due to their knowledge about his previous deportation. "This is just one example of the possible thousands of other convicted criminal aliens that are in our country illegally, robbing and stealing from hard-working, law-abiding, legal, American citizens," said Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen. "Criminal aliens who have been previously deported and then flagrantly disregard our laws by illegally re-entering the United States and continuing to commit crimes here should not be surprised to find themselves facing stiff federal prison sentences," said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Tampa, Fla. Ruiz-Toledo pled guilty to the burglary charges on May 19 in 14th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida and was sentenced to eight years state in prison. He also has prior conviction on Aug. 27, 2009 in the 14th Judicial Circuit Court for assault with a deadly weapon. Ruiz-Toledo was previously removed from the country by the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal (ERO) in September 2009 following his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon. He will be removed again to Mexico after he completes his prison sentences. Re-entering the United States after being formally deported is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Love prosecuted the case. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Make Large Drug Bust at New Mexico Port of Entry Santa Teresa, N.M. (MMD Newswire) November 18, 2010 -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry commercial cargo facility seized 493.5 pounds of marijuana in a bust yesterday. "This seizure was made due to the sharp vigilance of Santa Teresa CBP officers making use of an array of enforcement tools, officer experience, advanced technology, and K9 to detect a deeply concealed load of narcotics," said Charles Wright, CBP Santa Teresa Port Director. "The sophistication of this concealment method shows the extent to which smugglers go to introduce contraband into the U.S." The seizure was made at approximately 8:11 p.m. when a 1980 Kenworth tractor hauling an empty flatbed trailer entered the Santa Teresa cargo facility from Mexico. CBP officers selected the vehicle for a gamma-ray exam and identified several anomalies in the appearance of the front area of the flat bed trailer. The vehicle was moved to the inspection dock where CBP drug sniffing dog "Murphy" searched the trailer and alerted to the floor. CBP officers inspected the trailer and found a non factory compartment. CBP officers removed a total of 123 bundles. The contents of the bundles tested positive for marijuana. CBP officers at the port arrested the driver, 36-year-old Jacobo Fast Klassen, of Cuauhtémoc, Mexico. He was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents to face federal charges including importation of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. CBP Field Operations is responsible for securing our borders at the ports of entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers' primary mission is anti-terrorism; they screen all people, vehicles, and goods entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel into and out of the United States. Their mission also includes carrying out traditional border-related responsibilities, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration law, protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases, and enforcing trade laws. Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Guard soldier killed in Mexican border town Understanding the Gang Threat On the Southwest Border
A Barrio Azteca gang member's tattoos. Mexican drug cartels run the billion-dollar trafficking operations that bring so much crime and violence to both sides of the Southwest border. But it's street gangs that carry out the cartels' dirty work of smuggling, extortion, and murder. Understanding the gangs—their structure, culture, and tactics—is the job of agents who specialize in collecting human intelligence, or HUMINT. In our El Paso Field Office, the HUMINT squad pays particular attention to Barrio Azteca, the city's predominant gang whose leaders regularly do business from prison—even authorizing contract killings. “The focus of the HUMINT squad is not to worry about making individual cases,” said Special Agent Armando Ramos, a senior investigator on the team. “Our job is to see the big picture—whether it's Barrio Azteca or any other gang—so we can effectively target these groups and the larger drug trafficking organizations they associate with.” Intelligence gathering is critical to seeing that big picture. And Agent Ramos, working closely with officers from the El Paso Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, collect intelligence in a variety of ways. They get tips from police officers on the street, recruit sources from the ranks of disgruntled gang members, and make contact with recently arrested gang members who may be looking for a more lenient sentence in exchange for their cooperation. “Whatever intelligence we gain, we pass on to our Safe Streets Task Force and to other law enforcement agencies,” Agent Ramos said. “We get the information out quickly to where it can do the most good.” The actionable intelligence collected by the HUMINT squad could lead to arrests, drug seizures, or the prevention of crimes such as kidnapping or murder . There are dozens of different gangs operating along the Southwest border—some of them cooperate and some are bitter rivals—but the one thing they all share in common is violence. Barrio Azteca—known as BA—is an extremely violent gang, with as many as 3,500 members on the street and in jail, both in El Paso and across the Rio Grande in Juarez, Mexico. Even though the Bureau put together a major racketeering case against the gang several years ago that effectively dismantled its leadership, the group has reorganized, and younger members—dubbed the “Pepsi Generation”—have been promoted to top positions. Agent Ramos has been on the HUMINT squad for about three years and has an intimate knowledge of BA culture and its leaders. “The players are always changing, and so are their tactics,” he said. “That's why HUMINT is so valuable, because we are able to keep pace with gang activities and be proactive in our response.” But the job requires constant vigilance, he explained, because of how integral crime and violence are to the gang's culture. BA's constitution—its “sacred bible”—lists dozens of rules members must follow. Rule Number Two is, “Always dominate your opponent.” Rule Number One: “Once you get in, you can't get out.” “After you become a member,” Agent Ramos said, “there are only two ways to get out of BA—get killed or get arrested. With that kind of mindset, you can see why the work of the HUMINT squad is so important.”
Forging Ties in Tijuana 08/16/10 - Amid the car horns, engine exhaust, and constant flow of people on foot and in cars, Special Agent Mike Eckel inched through traffic at the San Ysidro Port of Entry—the world’s busiest land border crossing—on his way from San Diego to Tijuana. Although the Mexican city can be a dangerous place for Americans, in his role as one of the Bureau’s five border liaison officers, Eckel makes the trip about once a week. In addition to establishing strong relationships and coordinating international investigations with Mexican law enforcement, our border liaison officers also provide valuable training. In the late 1980s, the Bureau established the Mexican-American Liaison and Law Enforcement Training (MALLET) program to teach some of our time-tested investigative techniques such as evidence recovery and crime scene management. The weeklong courses, held about four times a year, also offer instruction in ethics and managing investigations. The training is conducted by border liaison officers and other FBI instructors. “The training is another way we foster good partnerships,” said Special Agent Mike Eckel, one of our border liaison officers. On this day, he will visit his counterpart at the Tijuana Police Department in hopes of locating a U.S. citizen wanted for a 2009 murder in Nevada who may be hiding with relatives in that region of Mexico. “The idea behind the border liaison program is to build relationships and to exchange information with Mexican law enforcement,” said Eckel, who speaks fluent Spanish. “We try to take geography out of the equation so we can share intelligence and help each other and bring criminals to justice on both sides of the border.” In the past, such relationships were difficult to cultivate in Tijuana because of the level of corruption there, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. “But the tide is turning,” Eckel said. “There is less corruption now, and the FBI and other federal entities have established solid working relationships with our Mexican partners.” Less than an hour after crossing the border, Eckel sat in a small office in a busy Tijuana police substation. He was speaking with officer Alejandro Lares about the Nevada murder fugitive and other matters, including suspected cartel members who live freely in San Diego, where they have committed no crimes. Lares, who has been on the Tijuana force for four years, has served as the liaison officer for U.S. law enforcement for the past year. “Today, the cartels have less power than they had in the past,” Lares said, largely because the Mexican federal government has exerted its military presence in the area. “We are moving in the right direction,” he added, but acknowledged that the crime and corruption associated with the drug trade will never disappear completely. Thanks to drug money, the cartels have enormous power—and they use it to bribe, intimidate, and murder. To get what they want from police and government officials in Tijuana and elsewhere along the Mexican border, the cartels offer “the silver or the lead”: the silver being money and the lead being bullets. Even well-intentioned public servants who refuse outright bribes might be compelled to look the other way if their lives—or the lives of their families—have been threatened. “And these are not hollow threats,” Eckel said. “They will kill you.” But efforts such as the border liaison program and the determined, collaborative work of law enforcement on both sides of the border are making a difference. “Sharing information is the key,” Eckel said. “By being able to gather intelligence and quickly analyze and share it, we can actually save lives. I have seen that happen.” Working with the Mexicans as well as other U.S. partner agencies, he added, “We help keep each other safe. We all get along extremely well, because our lives can depend on it. When Violence Hits Too Close to Home 08/12/10 - Emerging from the port of entry’s administrative offices into a sunny San Diego morning, Special Agent Dean Giboney spoke in fluent Spanish with the man whose temporary U.S. visa he had just helped renew. The man was smiling, happy to be out of Mexico, even though he understood that being on U.S. soil was no guarantee of safety from the Tijuana drug cartel that has put a price on his head. The kidnappings, beatings, and murders that mark the extreme drug-related violence of Mexican border cities such as Tijuana and Juarez have increasingly spilled over the border. Agent Giboney is hoping the man—we’ll call him José —can provide information that will help in the Bureau’s efforts to dismantle the cartels and the criminal enterprises they fuel. A few years ago, José started working for the Arellano Felix Organization (AFO) in Tijuana to earn extra money. But when he saw how routine the act of murder was for the cartel—leaders thought nothing of having even their own people killed for real or perceived insubordination—he started to fear for his life and contacted the FBI to help him flee the country. Sources like José are just one of many ways the Bureau gathers intelligence to combat border crime. Agent Giboney is particularly interested in gaining information regarding fugitives in the Los Palillos case, one of San Diego’s most notorious examples of so-called “spillover violence.” Los Palillos—the “Toothpicks”—was a rogue spinoff from the AFO. From 2004 to 2007, the San Diego street gang carried out a brutal crime spree in which 13 people were abducted and nine were killed. Bodies turned up in cars, on jogging paths, and inside houses in quiet, residential neighborhoods. The group’s leader, Jorge Rojas-Lopez, is serving a life sentence without parole for the crimes, and several of his henchmen are also in prison. But five members of the gang are still at large. Rojas-Lopez—a former AFO member—was fighting the cartel for a piece of the billion-dollar drug trade, but he was also fighting for revenge, because the AFO had ordered the murder of his brother. “This level of extreme violence is very typical of the way the cartels operate south of the border,” Giboney said. Unfortunately, Los Palillos is not an isolated case north of the border, either. What explains this level of brutality? “The cartels and the gang members they employ want to be Al Pacino in the movie Scarface,” Giboney said. During raids on the homes of cartel members, he has seen movie posters of the machine-gun-wielding Pacino, who played a vicious drug kingpin. “They want to live that lifestyle—the nice cars, going out to clubs, throwing money around. But once you’re in that lifestyle,” he explained, “it’s hard to get out, even if you want to.” José understands how difficult it is to get away from the cartel. The “narcos,” as he calls AFO members, are powerful as well as ruthless, and their influence is felt at every level of Mexican society. “Whatever they want to know about you they can find out,” he said. “They will stop at nothing to protect their interests, even if it means crossing the border.” Kidnappings Escalate
Kidnappings by the cartels and the gangs who work for them have become a serious problem in several U.S. cities on the Southwest border. In the past, kidnap victims were usually rivals in the drug trade. Sometimes victims were kidnapped for revenge, sometimes to intimidate. And paying a ransom was no guarantee the victim would be released. But when the gangs realized how easy—and profitable—kidnapping could be, they started abducting anyone who looked wealthy enough to command a hefty ransom, and that included Americans on either side of the border. In the Texas border town of McAllen, for example, the rate of kidnapping has nearly quadrupled. Between October 2008 and September 2009, 42 people were kidnapped in the McAllen area, compared with 11 the previous year. And many kidnappings go unreported because the victims may be involved in illegal activity and don’t want to contact authorities. The Southwest border, by the numbers: 2,000: approximate number of miles the U.S. Southwest border shares with Mexico; $18-39 billion: estimated number of illegal dollars that flow annually from the U.S. accross the Southwest border to enrich Mexican drug cartels; 2,600: number of drug-related muders in Juarez, Mexico in 2009; 28,000: number of drug-related muders in Mexico since 2006; 93%: estimated amount of all South American cocaine that moves through Mexico on its way to U.S. customers; 10,000: kilograms of marijuana seized during the first five months of 2010 in the Southwest border states (Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas); 6,154: total number of individual seizures of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine during the first five months of 2010 in the Southwest border states; 12: the number of FBI border corruption task forces operating along the Southwest border; 1: the number of corrupt border guards it would take to allow a terrorist carrying a weopon of mass destruction into the U.S. New Congressional Funding to Enhance Department of Justice Southwest Border Strategy WASHINGTON—Today’s passage by Congress of the Border Security Appropriations Bill provides $196 million for the Department of Justice to surge federal law enforcement efforts in high crime areas in the Southwest Border region, announced Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler. “I commend Congress for passing the Border Security Appropriations Bill to add important resources to bolster security on our Southwest Border,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler. “These assets are critical to bringing additional capabilities to crack down on transnational criminal organizations and reduce the illicit trafficking of people, drugs, currency, and weapons. “This bill will help strengthen the Department of Justice’s historic security efforts on the Southwest Border. Over the past 18 months, this Administration and this Department have dedicated unprecedented personnel, technology, and resources to the border, with unprecedented results, and we will continue to focus our efforts on disrupting criminal organizations and the networks they exploit,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler. Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler was joined in the announcement by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; Deputy Director Kenneth Melson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart; Assistant Director Kevin Perkins of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and U.S. Marshals Service Director John Clark. Specifically, the funding will allow for more than 400 new positions and the temporary deployment of up to 220 personnel along the border as part of the Justice Department’s broader Southwest Border Strategy, including: Target Drug Enforcement Efforts at the Cartels: Enhancing and increasing intelligence operations against drug cartels as well as adding 50 new positions in Southwest Border offices; FBI Hybrid Squads: Creation of five additional Hybrid Squads on the Southwest Border dedicated to combating the violent crime threat along the border and expanding intelligence collection efforts; Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF): Increased funding for the Southwest Border region including its seven OCDETF Strike Forces in the area to support investigations and prosecutions of high level Mexican drug cartels; U.S. Attorneys: Deployment of more than 30 prosecutors in targeted locations to provide additional prosecutorial resources dedicated to combating Southwest Border firearm and drug trafficking, and bulk cash smuggling; Criminal Division: Creation of 26 positions to review wiretap requests, along with mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) and extradition requests as well as to provide additional support for the investigation and prosecution of transnational gangs, firearms, and drug traffickers, and money launderers operating along the Southwest Border; USMS International Investigations: Deployment of more than 20 Deputy U.S. Marshals to support its international investigations, including establish offices in Mexico to address cross-border investigations and enhance USMS presence at El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) to facilitate more intelligence-driving investigations; Immigration Litigation: Increased funding for Immigration Judge Teams to expedite the adjudication of removal proceedings involving criminal aliens; Prisons and Detention: Increased funding for contract beds and USMS personnel to accommodate prisoner levels; and Training for Mexican law enforcement: Additional funding to support Mexican law enforcement operations with ballistic analysis, DNA analysis, information sharing, technical capabilities, and assistance. The Southwest Border Strategy, led by the Deputy Attorney General, uses federal prosecutor-led task forces that bring together all law enforcement components to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the Mexican drug cartels through investigation, prosecution, and extradition of their key leaders and facilitators, and seizure and forfeiture of their assets. The Department of Justice is increasing its focus on investigations and prosecutions of the southbound smuggling of guns and cash that fuel the violence and corruption and attacking the cartels in Mexico itself, in partnership with the Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) and the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP). The latest resources and funding announced by the United States build on the framework of expertise and experience that have been announced during the last year, as well as the successes these resources and funding have achieved, as part of the Obama administration’s support of the fight against the cartels. As the largest law enforcement presence in Mexico with offices throughout, and a decades-long history of working with the Mexican government, the DEA has a strategic vantage point from which to assess the drug trafficking situation in Mexico, the related violence, its causes and its historical context. Currently, DEA has nearly 29 percent of its domestic agent positions dedicated to combating drug trafficking organizations in the Southwest Border region. Project Deliverance, announced in June 2010, led to the arrest of more than 2,200 individuals on narcotics-related charges in the United States and the seizure of more than 74.1 tons of illegal drugs as part of a 22-month multi-agency law enforcement investigation. Through ATF’s Project Gunrunner, agents gather intelligence from federal firearms licensee records, ballistics and other laboratory analysis and trace data as well as use traditional methods of intelligence gathering to deny the “tools of the trade” to the firearms trafficking infrastructure of criminal organizations operating in Mexico and throughout the United States. As a result of Project Gunrunner, ATF seized 2,589 firearms and 265,500 rounds of ammunition destined for the Southwest Border in FY 2009. ATF has significantly expanded its efforts by deploying GRIT teams to target areas along the border. As a result of the first GRIT team deployment to Houston, agents researched and completed more than 1,000 investigative leads resulting in the initiation of more than 275 firearms cases and seizure of more than 440 illegal firearms. GRIT teams also completed more than 1,100 federal firearms licensee (FFL) inspections. Recovery Act funding provided Project Gunrunner with $10 million to hire special agents, industry operations investigators and others to staff new offices in McAllen, Texas; El Centro, Calif.; and Las Cruces, N.M. (including a satellite office in Roswell, N.M.,) to target the gun traffickers that enable weapons to make their way to violent criminals. ATF has also expanded its successful eTrace initiative, which allows law enforcement agencies to identify firearms trafficking trends of drug trafficking organizations and other criminal organizations funneling guns into Mexico from the United States, as well as to develop investigative leads in order to stop firearms traffickers and straw purchasers (people who knowingly purchase guns for prohibited persons) before they cross the border. USMS has stepped-up its efforts along the Southwest border, deploying 94 additional Deputy U.S. Marshals and sending four additional deputies to Mexico City to assist the Marshals Service Mexico City Foreign Field Office in FY 2009. Twenty-five new Criminal Investigators-Asset Forfeiture Specialists have been placed in USMS asset forfeiture units in the field. The new positions are unique in that they are solely dedicated to the USMS Asset Forfeiture Division and support U.S. Attorneys Offices and investigative agencies in investigations of cartels and other large-scale investigations. Extraditions from Mexico reached an all-time high in 2009, with 107 individuals extradited from Mexico to the United States to stand trial for alleged crimes committed in the United States. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has already achieved the extradition of 54 fugitives from Mexico in 2010, 22 of whom have been for drug trafficking offenses. This included the extradition from Mexico of Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid, the former governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. In addition to increased resources and funding, the Department of Justice has continued to support Mexican law enforcement through training initiatives. The Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and others are providing real time hands-on training through seminars for investigators and prosecutors in Mexico on the investigation and prosecution of complex cases, as Mexico transitions to an adversarial system. The training of 5,462 Mexican prosecutors and investigators at the state and federal level and in the executive and judicial branches has already occurred, and the department is on target to reach 9,261 trained by the end of 2010. In addition, the OCDETF program has increased its analyst personnel along the Southwest Border and the Office of Justice Programs invested $30 million in stimulus funding to assist with state and local law enforcement to combat narcotics activity coming through the southern border and in high intensity drug trafficking areas. PROJECT DELIVERANCE
06/10/10 - The results of a nearly two-year multi-agency investigation targeting Mexican drug trafficking organizations in the U.S.—especially along the Southwest border—were announced today, and the numbers speak for themselves: In addition to the arrest of more than 2,200 individuals on narcotics-related charges, there were significant seizures, including: ... $154 million in U.S. currency; “This interagency, cross-border operation has been our most extensive and most successful law enforcement effort to date targeting these deadly cartels,” Attorney General Eric Holder said during a press conference in Washington. Added Kevin Perkins, assistant director of our Criminal Investigative Division, “Today we have all taken a major step forward to disrupt and dismantle transnational drug trafficking that originates along our Southwest border. Our success demonstrates what we can accomplish when law enforcement agencies in the United States and other nations work together.”
Code named "Project Deliverance," the sweeping 22-month investigation included the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Mexican law enforcement, in addition to many other local, state, and federal partners. In one day, some 429 individuals in 16 states were arrested as more than 3,000 agents and officers fanned out across the country in a coordinated effort. Drug trafficking across the Southwest border has led to a surge of drugs in neighborhoods across the U.S., increased border violence, kidnapping, extortion, human smuggling, and public corruption, Perkins said. “To help combat this threat, the FBI focuses on areas where we bring something special to the table—in terms of technology, manpower, or federal statutes. And we try to maximize our resources by working closely with our state, local, and international counterparts, as demonstrated by this takedown.”
The Bureau’s specific participation in Project Deliverance included 14 drug- and gang-related cases across FBI field offices in Albuquerque, Dallas, El Paso, Kansas City, Mobile, Sacramento, San Antonio, and San Diego. “The FBI is proud to be part of this effort,” Perkins added. “Today, we see the culmination of our collective efforts. We see the benefits of working shoulder to shoulder as one team.” The 2,266 individuals arrested during Project Deliverance are charged with a variety of crimes involving conspiracy to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, along with other violations of federal law. Many of the defendants face forfeiture allegations as well. The coordinated takedown is part of the Department of Justice’s Southwest Border Strategy, which uses prosecutor-led task forces that bring together federal, state, and local law enforcement to identify, disrupt, and dismantle Mexican drug cartels through investigation, prosecution, and extradition of their key leaders and facilitators—and seizure and forfeiture of their assets. “This successful operation, however, is just one battle in an ongoing war,” Attorney General Holder noted. “So long as cartels and smugglers attempt to wreak havoc on our borders, we will continue to target them with every resource available to the federal government.”
Securing America’s Borders: United States Customs and Border Patrol Fiscal Year 2009 in Review Fact Sheet During fiscal year 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection made significant progress through targeted operations, increases in staffing and training, additional infrastructure and better technology, along with the support of the President and Congress, to meet its border security mission, while facilitating legitimate travel and trade. All figures pertain to FY09 unless otherwise noted. Organizational Development CBP seized more than 4.75 million pounds of narcotics during FY09. CBP personnel encountered more than 224,000 inadmissible aliens and apprehended more than 556,000 at and between air, sea and land ports of entry. During the same time period, CBP ports of entry apprehended more than 9,500 people wanted for a variety of charges, to include serious criminal crimes such as murder, rape, and child molestation. CBP Deploys Video Surveillance System in Detroit Sector
Surveillance Systems Deployed to Northern Border Provide Situational Awareness Washington – U.S. Customs and Border Protection today announced the deployment of the Remote Video Surveillance System in the Detroit Border Patrol Sector as part of the Secure Border Initiative’s Northern Border Project. The Northern Border Project is part of CBP’s initiative to enhance the use of technology in securing the northern border against illegal cross-border activity. The project also deployed the surveillance system in the Buffalo Border Patrol Sector in February 2010. “The Northern Border Project technology deployment provides immediate capability to help Border Patrol agents expand their ability to detect, identify, classify, respond to and resolve illegal cross border activity,” said Secure Border Initiative Executive Director Mark Borkowski. “At the same time, this deployment will provide lessons learned that will enable CBP to design better-tailored, longer-term technology options for the northern border.” Each RVSS system is comprised of a total of four cameras – two day and two night cameras for 24/7 operations. The Detroit sector deployment consists of 11 RVSS sites along the St. Clair River. Ten of the sites are completed and operational with the eleventh scheduled for completion by the end of the year. The Buffalo sector deployment consists of 5 RVSS sites along the upper Niagara River. All five sites are completed and operational. The deployment of technology along the northern border is part of a larger border security strategy that assists CBP frontline officers and agents. SBInet is the component of SBI charged with developing and installing technology solutions to help gain effective control of our nation’s borders. The right mix of technology and personnel is considered for each part of the border based on the operational needs of Border Patrol agents.
disorder-border-archive-8-12-2010 disorder-border-archive-6-25-2010
|
you are here Weather
|
