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5 bodies found in Ariz may be latest drug violence.

greatriversofhope — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:48:33 +0000

Related Content This image provided by the Pinal … This image provided by the Pinal … PHOENIX (AP) —

Five bodies found in burned-out SUV in Arizona desert

Cary Docter — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 05:04:39 +0000

(CNN) — Five bodies were found Saturday, June 2nd in a burned-out vehicle in the southern Arizona desert, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said.

Border Patrol officers originally spotted the SUV early Saturday and tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver took off and disappeared, Babeu said. Aided by daylight, authorities later in the day were able to find tracks near where the vehicle was initially spotted, which led officers to the burned-out Ford Explorer.

Authorities are investigating whether the bodies found are linked to violence by Mexican drug cartels. The incident took place in the Vekol Valley, a hotbed of drug- and human-smuggling activity, according to Babeu, who said his department conducted 350 high-speed chases in the area last year in an effort to curb such crime.

One of the bodies was found in the second row of the SUV, while the others were in the cargo area of the vehicle. A second set of automobile tracks was also found at the scene, according to Babeu.

A cause of death for the victims, who have not been identified, is not yet known.

CNN’s Greg Morrison contributed to this report.

Border Patrol and Arizona DPS nab almost $1 million in marijuana

cachocurt — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:06:50 +0000

Border Patrol released the following press release on September 16, 2011:

***

Tucson, AZ – More than 1,900 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of almost $974,000 was seized and a stolen vehicle was recovered by Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents in two separate incidents yesterday.

Early Thursday, agents from the Nogales Station apprehended a Mexican national who had illegally entered the U.S. and was in possession of 134 pounds of marijuana valued at nearly $67,000. The subject and narcotics were transported to the Nogales Station for processing. Prosecution is being sought against the subject on federal drug charges.

In another incident, Casa Grande Station agents working with the Arizona Department of Public Safety in the Vekol Valley area recovered a stolen vehicle and seized 84 bundles of marijuana. A DPS air crew observed a suspicious vehicle hidden in brush one mile south of Interstate 8. Agents responded to the location and discovered an abandoned pick-up truck loaded with more than 1,800 pounds of marijuana. A records check revealed the truck was reported stolen out of Glendale, Ariz. The marijuana, worth an estimated $907,000, and vehicle were turned over to DPS as the primary agency in charge of the operation.

The DPS and Border Patrol joint operation was made possible by the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats, a multi-agency agreement between federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement to work in partnership as a way to deny, degrade, disrupt and dismantle smuggling organizations. Multiple agencies have participated in various operations concentrated in Pinal County and Vekol Valley. These efforts demonstrate an unprecedented level of cooperation, coordination and communication that is taking place between agencies across Arizona.

Since launching the Southwest Border Initiative in March 2009, the Department of Homeland Security has made significant investments toward establishing a secure and safe border environment to improve the quality of life throughout Arizona’s communities.

The Border Patrol welcomes assistance from the community. Suspicious activity can be reported by calling their toll free number, (877) 872-7435. All calls will be answered and remain anonymous.

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Mexican Hit Men Are In The U.S.

Lee Hernly — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:06:14 +0000

And the Government decides to put up signs instead of controlling the border. Exit question: Will the Feds push for amnesty for the hit men?

Amplify’d from www.washingtontimes.com

Drug-smuggling gangs in Mexico have sent well-armed assassins, or “sicarios,” into Arizona to locate and kill bandits who are ambushing and stealing loads of cocaine, marijuana and heroin headed to buyers in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security has warned Arizona law enforcement authorities.

In a memo first sent in May but widely circulated since, the department said a group of “15, very well-equipped and armed” assassins complete with body armor had been sent into the state to identify, locate and kill the drug thieves, who are thought to be independent operators.

The memo said the assassins had been dispatched to the Vekol Valley, a well-established and widely travelled drug-smuggling corridor running north and south across Interstate 8 between the Arizona towns of Casa Grande and Gila Bend. The valley is a direct link to both the interstate and to Phoenix, giving drug smugglers the option of shipping their goods to California or to major cities both north and east.

Disguised as groups of backpackers but carrying empty boxes covered with burlap, the memo said the paid assassins would attempt to “draw out the bandits.” Once identified, it said, the assassins “will take out the bandits.”

“We just received information from a proven, credible confidential source who reported that a meeting was held in Puerto Penasco, in which every smuggling organization who utilizes the Vekol Valley was told to attend,” the memo said. “This included rival groups within the Guzman cartel.”

Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera heads what formally is known as the Sinaloa Cartel, which smuggles multi-ton loads of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico into the United States. One of the most powerful and dangerous drug gangs in Mexico, it also is known as the Guzman cartel and has been linked to the production, smuggling and distribution of Mexican marijuana and “black tar” heroin.

The federal government recently posted signs along Interstate 8 in the Vekol Valley warning travelers the area is unsafe because of drug and alien smugglers. The signs were posted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) along a 60-mile stretch of Interstate 8 between Casa Grande and Gila Bend, warning travelers they are entering an “active drug- and human-smuggling area” and may encounter “armed criminals and smuggling vehicles traveling at high rates of speed.”

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, whose county includes the valley, told The Washington Times earlier this month that Mexican drug cartels have posted scouts on the high points around the valley to control movement in the area. He said they have radios, optics and “night-vision goggles as good as anything law enforcement has.”

“This is going on here in Arizona … 30 miles from the fifth-largest city in the United States,” he said.

The sheriff said he asked the Obama administration for 3,000 National Guard soldiers to patrol the border, but got 15 signs along Interstate 8 instead.

Read more at www.washingtontimes.com

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DHS says Mexican assassins headed to Arizona

newsdeskinternational — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 02:31:30 +0000

Drug smuggling gangs from Mexico have now sent armed assassins across the border into Arizona, to lo