U.S. citizens had been apprehended about 2,400 times by late March for drug smuggling during inspections of vehicles crossing those checkpoints. Since Operation Atonement began seven years ago, over 160 members and associates have been arrested, according to an FBI press release. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An Arizona man is facing charges in New Mexico after authorities found a cache of illicit drugs that included thousands of fentanyl pills while serving a search warrant. Reyes Complaint. Contreras was arrested this morning in Rio Rancho. The investigation, which was designated as part of the Justice Departments Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, targeted a DTO allegedly led by Luis Angel Briseo-Lopez, 30, a Mexican national believed to reside in Juarez, Mexico, and who has yet to be arrested. Yatziri Barboza was one. "This was not something he was regularly involved in," Cantu said of Mendoza, who pleaded guilty to a drug smuggling charge in March. Hollywood writers to go on strike for first time in over 15 years, slamming 'gig economy', Italy seizes 4 tons of cocaine worth $256 million in bust linked to Colombian drug operation, fentanyl accountsfor the majority of synthetic opioid deaths, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy reported, Pablo Escobar's "cocaine hippos" won't stop multiplying - so Colombia wants some gone, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Cantu estimates the number of cases he's handled of U.S. citizens facing drug smuggling charges has doubled since 2019. Homeland Security Investigators. Official websites use .gov ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) - Crime in New Mexico continues to be a growing problem. Prescription Drug Overdose in New Mexico (2022-Q1), Prescription Drug Overdose in New Mexico (2021-Q4), Prescription Drug Overdose in New Mexico (2021-Q3), Prescription Drug Overdose in New Mexico (2021-Q2), Prescription Drug Overdose in New Mexico (2021-Q1), Prescription Drug Overdose in New Mexico (2020-Q4), Prescription Drug Overdose in New Mexico (2020-Q3), Prescription Drug Overdose in New Mexico (2020-Q2). The statutory penalty for a conviction on the charges in the complaint is imprisonment for not less than ten years nor more than life and a $10 million fine. In doing that, I will continue to pledge every resource available from the Doa Ana County Sheriffs Department towards that goal., The Las Cruces Police Department is proud of the working relationship we have with other local and federal law enforcement agencies, said Chief Jaime Montoya of the Las Cruces Police Department. Ricardo Terrazas-Ignacio, 19, of Las Cruces, N.M., is charged in Count 1 and 16 of the indictment. Jorge Marquez was sentenced to over 27 years in prison. Prosecutors also say the group appears to have a knack for discovering tracking devices on their cars, which may have tipped off the groups alleged leader that he was under investigation. Attorneys Selesia L. Winston and Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorneys Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the cases as part of the OCDETF Program and the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. Carmona was arrested this morning in Arlington, Tex. Attorneys Peter Eicker and Matthew Nelson are prosecuting the case as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. After fleeing, Verduzco-Ramirez left his nephew, Jimenez-Verduzco, in charge of the rings day-to-day operations but is still believed to be controlling operations from Mexico, prosecutors wrote in a motion to keep Jimenez-Verduzco in custody. Market data provided by Factset. Briseno-Lopez Indictment It charges one defendant with a firearms offense. Wed, May 26th 2021, 2:30 PM PDT. Petro told reporters after the meeting with Biden that he asked the U.S. for help in fighting drugs. Tom Homan says number of illegal border crossings is unprecedented', White House insists border is closed despite massive migrant surge. 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. Fax (505) 346-7296. "This was long overdue," Martinez said. Agents also seized $12,000 in cash, 30 pounds of marijuana, three guns and "personal use" amounts of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, Apodaca said. There was at least one arrest for child abuse as well. It is the duty and responsibility of the community to watch-out for each other.. (AP/U.S. 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. This April 2019 file photo shows the port of entry from Mexicali, Mexico to Calexico, Calif. (AP/West Coast Aerial Photography Inc.), KAMALA HARRIS HAS GONE 69 DAYS WITHOUT A NEWS CONFERENCE SINCE BEING TASKED WITH BORDER CRISIS ROLE. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is 20 years and a $500,000. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on each of these counts is imprisonment for four years and a $250,000 fine. 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. Two other defendants are charged in a criminal complaint with heroin trafficking offenses arising out of the seizure of approximately 17.8 pounds of heroin by the Hatch Police Department during a traffic stop near Hatch, N.M., on April 20, 2017. The indictment includes 77 overt acts allegedly committed by the defendants in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. A lock ( She worked at the newspaper from 2009 to 2012, and worked at NBC San Diego from 2013 to 2018 before returning to the paper. A landmark truth commission report found the war on drugs prolonged thecountry's decadeslong civil war. He refused to let it end in Game 7, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Are you having Trouble Finding the Page you are looking for? The maximum penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for 20 years and a $500,000 fine. Mryna Montemayor, a public defender representing Barboza, did not respond to an email seeking comment. It also seeks the imposition of a money judgment in the amount of at least $1.4 million, the amount allegedly derived from the crimes charged in the indictment. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations. District of New Mexico Gonzales said 20 defendants were charged in the Espaola Valley, 15 of which have already been arrested.. P.O. City News Service contributed to this report. At least 34 suspects arrested that day face drug trafficking charges in either federal or state District Court, Apodaca said (see list on page A4). Count 12 charges certain defendants with possession with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base. WASHINGTON Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared during his inaugural address last August that the time has come for a new approach in the international war on drugs, which he argued has failed and failed resoundingly.. 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. Jazmin Lucia Soto, 19, of Chaparral, N.M., is charged in Counts 1 and 36-37 of the indictment. Rivas-Aguilar is in custody on a federal marijuana trafficking charge in the Western District of Texas and will be transferred to the District of New Mexico to face the charges in the indictment. Petro's decriminalization approach comes as Biden has been increasingly criticized by Republicans for being weak on border security and stopping the flow of fentanyl from Mexican cartels who also traffic in Colombian cocaine. Count 1 charges all six defendants with conspiracy to distribute cocaine base. Two other defendants, who were not previously charged, were arrested during todays law enforcement operation. The Albuquerque Police Department made a large drug bust on Thursday recovering narcotics, a gun and cash in a stolen car.Officers were near San Pedro and Kathryn conducting an operation when they . Abundio Rene Cantu, a lawyer representing Mendoza, said he believes his client was offered a reward "in the thousands" of dollars. 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. 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. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Court records did not show that an attorney had been appointed for him yet. It was his first arrest in Bernalillo County. Juan R. Gutierrez, 30, of Belen, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 2 and 18-20 of the indictment. In January 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Dallas division reported the largest methamphetamine and heroin seizure in the branch's history. 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, a September 1 search of multiple locations, KRQE-Emerson Poll: Majority of New Mexicans think crime has gotten worse, Bernalillo County and Albuquerque team up for fentanyl education program. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Friday, federal and local law enforcement announced the results of an operation in southeast New Mexico that. The drug bust was the latest step in Operation Atonement, an FBI operation aimed at dismantling the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico (SNM) prison gang. All rights reserved. DEA will continue to disrupt and dismantle these DTOs to break the wave of fentanyl flooding and endangering our communities.. They will be charged in criminal complaints to be filed today with drug trafficking and money laundering offenses. Bahe was arrested this morning in Las Cruces. Glenn Youngkin rules out presidential campaign while in California, Three killed in small plane crash near Big Bear airport, authorities say, 2 students stabbed near Los Angeles High; LAPD investigating, Bass budget proposal for Animal Services is far less than what department requested, Salmonella outbreak linked to Gold Medal flour reaches California. Count 2 of the Indictment charges nine defendants with participating in an international money laundering conspiracy. ST. LOUIS - The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) busted a large-scale, multi-state drug trafficking ring and 11 people from St. Louis have been arrested for their role. They pulled the car over on Hayward Avenue in Santa Clara and found more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine, according to the criminal complaint against both men. Roderica T. Bahe, 24, of Albuquerque, N.M., is charged in Counts 1 and 44 of the indictment. Former acting ICE director Tom Homan on the migrant surge and the number of illegal border crossings is unprecedented.. Arellano Felix was extradited from Mexico in August 2012 to face US charges. Rios was arrested in El Paso. Counts 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 22 through 24, 27, 28, 30, 32 and 33 charge certain defendants with using communication facilities to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. An increasing number of American citizens have been apprehended as they have tried to smuggle illegal drugs into the U.S. since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, an uptick that's come amid travel restrictions at the border with Mexico. The charges filed and drugs seized as the result of this investigation demonstrate the success of the collaborative efforts of our federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies to root out drug traffickers operating in New Mexico and throughout the country. Main Office: 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. AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) - After a case involving undercover investigation, surveillance, cross-country travel, and the Amarillo Police Department SWAT . 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. It also alleges that nine of the defendants also participated in an international money laundering conspiracy during that same period in time. PUBLISHED: February 12, 2021 at 1:17 p.m. | UPDATED: February 12, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. A state, federal and local investigation has busted a Colorado drug and money laundering ring with ties to . The statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for not less than ten years nor more than life and a $10 million fine. In a September 1 search of multiple locations around the city, law enforcement say they recovered more than 1 million fentanyl pills. 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. Major Bay Area drug bust: Feds seize 650 pounds, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), H-1B: Feds want criminal charges over application fraud for Silicon Valleys favorite visa, Major Bay Area drug bust: Feds seize 650 pounds of meth, four indicted on distribution charges, El Chapo sons charged with pushing cheap fentanyl into US, California legislative effort to curtail trafficking fentanyl through social media stalls, Brittney Griner says shell only play overseas again if its the Olympics, Why California bills to crack down on fentanyl dealers have been doomed in the state Legislature, San Jose police bust 7 underground casinos, yielding guns, drugs, nearly $300,000 in cash. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A locked padlock The Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said drug gang leader Hector Flores Aceves, known by his nickname "Pantera," or the Panther, was involved in the killings. Edgar Dominguez-Cuellar, 30, of Sunland Park, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 7-10 and 12-13 of the indictment. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents arrested six defendants Feb. 17, charged with various drug trafficking offenses involving crack cocaine. The names of the people. Data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The citizens of New Mexico are safer today because of the collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies. 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. Crime and Public Safety | Statistics published earlier this year show that New Mexicos 2020 fentanyl-related death rate was seven times higher than it was in 2016. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. He largely credits the partial closure of the border. Instead of awar on drugs, Petrofavors expanding crop substitution programs that would provide rural farmers with incentives and training to grow legal crops. The charges against Reye and Ornelas arise out of the seizure of approximately 17.80 pounds (8.10 kilograms) by the Hatch Police Department near Hatch, N.M., on April 20, 2017. The statutory penalty for a conviction on the charges in the complaint is imprisonment for not less than ten years nor more than life and a $10 million fine. The maximum penalty on conviction is from 10 years to life in prison. The investigation concluded this morning with an early morning, multi-agency law enforcement operation which included the execution of arrest warrants in New Mexico and Texas, and the execution of six search warrants at locations in El Paso, Tex., Sunland Park, N.M., Belen, N.M., and Albuquerque, N.M. Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEAs El Paso Division announced the results of the investigation this afternoon during a press conference in Las Cruces, N.M. Michael Collins covers the White House. Count 42 charges a defendant with managing or controlling a residence for storing controlled substances. The statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for not less than five years, which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on other counts of conviction. The maximum penalty on conviction is up to 20 years in prison. Have a question about Government Services? . 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. 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. Wendy Fry has covered Tijuana, greater Baja California and border issues at The San Diego Union-Tribune. The initiative known as "Plan Colombia" focusedon the eradication of coca, strengthening Colombia's security apparatus and solving aninternal conflict where more than 200,000 peopledied. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. $54 million drug bust tied to Mexican cartel uncovered in FL, GA | wtsp.com Polk County 'Operation Dirty Water': 6 charged in $54 million drug bust with ties to the Mexican cartel Polk. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. If convicted, Seibel, Pettit and Dockery face a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. Lock Count 43 charges certain defendants with possessing with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. June 29, 2021, 4:59 PM PDT By Gabe Gutierrez and Al Henkel EL PASO, Texas Federal agents in this section of the southern border say they've seen a staggering 4,000 percent increase in fentanyl. Counts 3, 20, 21, 31 and 39 charge certain defendants with substantive international money laundering offenses. In the largest methamphetamine seizure in Miami-Dade County history, law enforcement agents seized the over 1,200 pounds of crystal meth before it ever hit the streets. "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. KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. California legislative effort to curtail trafficking fentanyl through social media stalls 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. According to court records, Seibel, assisted by his co-conspirators included Pettit and Dockery, allegedly sold blues, which are counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, as well as fentanyl pills manufactured in Albuquerque using a pill press machine. 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. "U.S. citizens people that are struggling financially that are going to be allowed to come in. AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Three people have been arrested after a traffic stop in New Mexico led agents to a drug bust in Amarillo. De Santiago was arrested this morning in Sunland Park. The indictment alleges that from March 26 to June 9, Seibel, Pettit and others conspired to traffic large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl. Luis Angel Briseo-Lopez, 30, a Mexican national believed to reside in Juarez, Mexico, is charged in Counts 1-4, 6, 13-17, 20-21, 23, 25-26, 29, 31-32 and 34-39 of the indictment. Ibarra has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive. Further, that Ryan Rodriguez acted as a mid-level cocaine distributor, receiving supplies of cocaine from Jose and Natalie Mendoza, converting it to crack cocaine, and distributing it to customers, including an undercover agent posing as a lower-level drug trafficker. The defendants were arrested on June 15 in a joint law enforcement operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Fentanyl and meth are cheaper and more widely available as street drugs, interviews with law enforcement and Department of Health Officials reveal. In comparison, just 361 such apprehensions during the same period involved Mexican citizens, who are generally second behind Americans for drug trafficking arrests at ports of entry. The bust happened at a residence on Coolidge Avenue in Columbus on Thursday after about a month-long investigation. Market data provided by Factset. A 28-year-old Kent man was among 16 indicted after arrests over the last 10 days as part of a multistate methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution ring. The shooting happened along N. Riverside Drive near Century Bank after officers responded to calls about a traffic hazard. Hours of operation and contact information are provided below. It noted its increasingly seized drugs trafficked by U.S. citizens and by commercial trucks during the pandemic. 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. 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.

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