U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at El Paso area ports of entry seized a large amount of drugs being smuggled into the country in novel ways. One female was caught hiding fentanyl inside her body, another in a hamburger.
In the past two weeks, CBP El Paso POE agents seized more than 62 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 25 pounds of fentanyl, and more than 158 pounds of marijuana.
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Mexican cartels for decades have devised creative ways to smuggle narcotics and other contraband across the southern U.S., including using produce, law enforcement officials say. This month, in one week, thousands of pounds of meth were seized hidden in shipments of peppers, tomatillos and carrots.
At the Otay Mesa, California, cargo facility this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized large quantities of methamphetamine (meth) hidden under packages of the vegetables.
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According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), four of the city’s residents have been arrested following a methamphetamine and fentanyl bust conducted by local, state, and federal authorities.
“A joint investigation by MNPD narcotics detectives, DEA agents and the TBI’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force led to Monday’s seizure of 12 pounds of pressed fentanyl pills (approximately 120,000) and 27 pounds of meth arriving in Nashville from California,” MNPD said in press release.
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A Nashville man has been sentenced to nearly 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a four-count Indictment charging him with distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin, according to the Middle District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Seattle is in King County, Washington, where Joe Biden got 75 percent of the vote in the 2020 election. King County had more than 1,000 drug overdoses involving fentanyl in 2023. These two facts are almost certainly related, but which is the cause and which the effect? Or could it be that both (a) the tendency to vote for Democrats and (b) the addiction to dangerous drugs are caused by some unknown factor? Without a careful analysis of the available data to identify that unknown background factor, is it wrong to hazard a guess that the overdosing dopeheads and Democratic voters in King County are just plain stupid?
Beyond sarcastic put-downs, it behooves those interested in public policy to take a look at what’s going on in places like Seattle, where Democrats dominate and “progressive” ideas therefore advance unhindered by any effective opposition. In the case of King County’s skyrocketing drug overdoses — which increased nearly 50 percent in just the past year — local officials have declared the problem “a public health crisis.” However, fentanyl is illegal, which means that the overdoses are also indicative of a crime problem, and progressives are against putting criminals in prison.
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The far-left city of San Francisco is set to have its deadliest year on record in terms of drug overdoses, further emphasizing the coastal city’s struggles with rising crime, homelessness, and drug abuse.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the California city recorded 692 accidental overdose deaths from January to October of 2023, as reported by the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner last month. By the end of the year, that total is expected to top 800, surpassing the previous record of 720 deaths in 2020.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized significant amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl at the border in Arizona on Thursday.
The law enforcement agency seized 71 pounds of meth and 63.3 pounds of fentanyl. According to a news release, the meth has a $63,796 value and the fentanyl is valued at $416,150. In total, this was nearly $480,000 in terms of “street value” taken into possession by CBP.
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Individuals who sell controlled substances in the Sunshine State such as fentanyl could face serious penalties for the overdose deaths of drug users if a new bill is signed into law.
Senate Bill 280 revises definitions for what constitutes first degree, second and third degree murder and also provides harsher penalties for adults who distribute, deliver, sell, or dispense specified substances that result in an injury or death to the user.
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A West Tennessee man was recently sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after being found guilty on four counts of a seven-count indictment for trafficking methamphetamine.
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A multiagency operation led to the arrest of more than 200 people allegedly engaging in human trafficking in Polk County, Florida. More than half of the victims were smuggled into the U.S. illegally through the southern border, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Of the 24 victims identified as being trafficked, “14 of these females are illegally in this country,” Judd said. “Did you hear that? Did you hear clearly what I said?
“Fourteen of them are here illegally in the country. To me the bombshell is 13 of them are Cuban, one is Mexican, all of them came to us through the southern border.”
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The Maricopa County Grand Jury indicted two women Monday for possessing over 850,000 counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, enough to cause potentially millions of overdoses.
“Two out of five counterfeit pills that come across our border are laced with lethal doses of fentanyl. These drugs are being marketed to our youth in the most proliferous ways and are being produced in candy-like colors. We must hold those who bring these lethal pills into our community accountable,” said County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are seizing record amounts of fentanyl and meth in Arizona and Texas brought in by Mexican cartel operatives and foreign nationals trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
In just five separate inspections ahead of Labor Day weekend, for example, officers seized 625,000 pills in Nogales, Arizona, which borders Sonora, Mexico, Michael Humphries, CBP Director of the Nogales Port of Entry, said.
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A woman has been charged with murder after an investigation conclude that she snuck drugs into a Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) facility earlier this year.
Those drugs killed her boyfriend in an overdose, authorities say.
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A Georgia inmate was able to orchestrate and execute a drug distribution ring while behind bars that sent narcotics throughout the state, according to the Department of Justice.
Jackie Kavaskia McMillan was sentenced to almost 40 years in prison for operating that drug ring that sent methamphetamine and other drugs, targeting the southern portion of the state.
The additional sentence will be served consecutive to the life sentence that McMillian is already subject to because he was convicted of murder.
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a new, two-count indictment against a Mexican man for smuggling methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico.
The individual was charged one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and one count of Importation of Methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico.
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According to recently-released city data from the Overdose Response Program, Nashville saw a massive increase in drug overdose rate in 2021.
“In 2021, there were 712 suspected drug overdose deaths, representing a 15% increase compared to 2020, where 621 overdose deaths were reported,” according to the report.
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Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations interdicted 62 tons (124,000 pounds) of illicit drugs in the first three months of this year, CBP reports, working with international, federal, state and local partners.
“Collaboration keeps us all safer,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said of their efforts. “CBP AMO works with U.S. and international partners to stem the flow of illicit narcotics. Through the end of March, AMO has contributed to the seizure of over 124,000 lbs of narcotics by partner agencies.”
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Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal grand jury returned an eighteen-count superseding indictment charging 13 individuals as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy that sought to distribute illegal drugs in the Akron area.
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In one year, Customs and Border Protection agents encountered triple the number of people entering the U.S. illegally compared to the previous year. From October 2020 to September 2021, 1,734,686 people were encountered at the U.S. southern border.
From October 2019 to September 2020, that number was 458,088.
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U.S. methamphetamine-related deaths in adults between the ages of 18 to 64 nearly tripled from 2015 to 2019, according to a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
The study found that the number of psychostimulant-related overdoses increased from 5,526 to 15,489, a roughly 180% jump, between 2015 and 2019. The number of people who said they used methamphetamine increased 43% over the same years.
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Virginia’s GOP nomination process for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general is grabbing headlines but early voting in the Democratic primary is still ongoing, and the final day of voting is in June. On Wednesday and Thursday, Democrats held debates between their candidates for attorney general and governor.
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On Friday’s Gill Report – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 1510 WLAC weekdays at 7:30 am – Star News National Political Editor Steve Gill talked about the recent liquor license revocation at a small lounge called Sharky’s in Harrison Township Ohio. He was perplexed about the Ohio Investigative Unit’s focus on a small two thousand dollar misuse of food stamps instead of perhaps bigger fish to fry. Gill said: Well some bad news for those who live in Harrison Township in Ohio, well maybe it’s not sad news for everybody just those who want to use their food stamps to go buy liquor, drugs, and well an occasional lap dance at a strip club. Sharky’s lounge is in Harrison Township in Ohio and they lost their liquor license yesterday. The Ohio liquor control commission revoked the adult entertainment clubs license, according to the Ohio Investigative Unit. Now they had begun investigating the club, known as Sharky’s back in May of 2017. So, it was a long investigation. It takes a lot to find out what these are up to sometimes. Anyway, during the investigation agents say they were able to buy drugs and lap dances from strippers by using food…
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