Agents arrested 23 people in relation to a cartel-linked drug operation in Texas that dealt in cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and meth.
The arrests came after a five-year investigation that started in 2019. Prosecutors said the drug ring operated in the Houston and Galveston areas and was under the control of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
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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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The Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Office recently announced that two women and one man – all in their sixties – have been arrested and face charges in what the sheriff’s office is calling the “largest fentanyl bust in the county’s history.”
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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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Metro Nashville Police recovered a large haul of illegal drugs and a loaded weapon Thursday evening at a Donelson apartment while following up on a routine service call.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently intercepted two smuggling attempts of millions of dollars worth of deadly drugs at the southern border.
Officers in Laredo, Texas, on March 25 confiscated over $4.3 million in alleged meth they found in a tractor trailer carrying waterproof sealant from Mexico, CBP said in a press release.
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Officials announced the seizure of liquid methamphetamine hidden in a gas tank, more than 800 pounds of marijuana, nearly 15 pounds of fentanyl and over $37 million worth of methamphetamine at the southern border over the weekend, Customs and Border Protection announced Monday.
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Oregon residents on Tuesday voted to decriminalize certain possession amounts of hard drugs.
Roughly 60% of Oregonian voters favored making it no longer a crime to possess a “non-commercial” amount of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, among others, according to The Hill. Those caught with the specified amount of narcotics face a $100 fine, but the penalty can be avoided by undergoing a health assessment, the Hill reported.
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George Floyd had fentanyl in his system and had recently used methamphetamine before his death, which was ruled a homicide, according to a county medical examiner autopsy released Monday.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report said Floyd experienced “fentanyl intoxication” and “recent methamphetamine use” were “significant conditions” leading to his death. The report ultimately deemed his death a “homicide” due to law enforcement restraint and “neck compression” that contributed to a heart attack.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed in Laredo, Texas, seized $2.9 million of alleged crystal meth from a vehicle Thursday.
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by Jason Hopkins Border Patrol Tucson Sector Chief Roy Villareal broke down how drug traffickers are taking advantage of the immigration crisis at the U.S. southern border, a situation he said will continue without help from Congress. “This appears to be a growing trend — something that we experienced before, but we abated it through cooperative effort with our federal law enforcement partners, but it seems to be on the rise again,” Villareal said Sunday on “Fox and Friends,” referring to the amount of drugs crossing through the U.S.-Mexico border. “We’re focused on the migrant caravan, the overwhelming numbers of aliens that are showing up, and this is opportunistic from the perspective that narcotic traffickers realize there is an opportunity and they are going to utilize it to import illicit narcotics,” Villareal continued. Customs and Border Patrol agents across the country have seized 138,610 pounds of marijuana, 32,951 pounds of cocaine, 32,814 pounds of meth, and 2,708 pounds of heroin since the beginning of this fiscal year. Villareal said that the enormous number of family units and unaccompanied minors reaching the border has forced agents to increasingly take on a caretaker role, resulting in fewer resources going towards immigration and border security. The situation, he claimed, cannot continue…
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by Jason Hopkins An illegal immigrant confessed during an interrogation that he killed four people because he needed money to purchase meth. Wilbur Ernesto Martinez-Guzman, a 20-year-old from El Salvador living in the U.S. illegally, broke down into tears as he confessed to being behind four gruesome murders in Nevada, a detective told a grand jury on Thursday. Martinez-Guzman, who initially giggled as he denied any involvement in the murders, eventually confessed to doing something “unforgivable” when presented with numerous contradictions in his story. The young Central American was arrested on Jan. 19 and indicted earlier in March for the murders of four individuals. During a rampage that spanned several days in January, Martinez-Guzman allegedly killed Connie Koontz, who was believed to be murdered on Jan 9 or 10, Sophia Renken, who was killed on Jan. 13, and Gerald and Sharon David, whose bodies were found on Jan. 16. It appears Martinez-Guzman, using a stolen .22 caliber handgun, specifically targeted vulnerable victims. Married couple Gerald and Sharon David were 81 and 80 years old, respectively. Renken was a 74-year-old woman, and Koontz was a 56-year-old woman living with her disabled mother. The murders, which took place in Nevada, gained…
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by State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) As Phil Bredesen runs for Senate this year, he’s asking you to look back on his time as governor. He is highlighting what he did but he is misleading voters about what that record actually is. He regularly claimed that he “cut meth production in half” while Governor of Tennessee until the Washington Post fact-checked the ad and gave it “Three Pinocchio’s” for being untrue. While that’s bad enough, the real story is much worse. I was elected to the legislature in 2002 and wanted to use my experience to solve problems. Having spent most of my adult life in law enforcement, I saw how the scourge of meth and meth labs were impacting rural communities: overdoses and death, children removed from their homes and toxic meth lab cleanup sites. The problem was huge and required a non-partisan approach. Throughout 2003 and 2004 I worked with both Democrats and Republicans to create the Tennessee Comprehensive Methamphetamine Prevention, Treatment and Control Act of 2004. But when it came time to seek Governor Bredesen’s help to pass the bill into law, I was shocked at his response. Ushered into a meeting with Bredesen’s Deputy Governor…
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