Cops from the 75 Precinct and the NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau recovered a cache of weapons after they conducted an investigation that led to three search warrants at locations in Brooklyn earlier this month. The search warrants resulted in the following weapons being taken off the streets of NYC.

SKS Rifle .762 cal
Mossberg 500 12 Gauge Shotgun
(2) Glock 22 .40 cal Handguns
Glock 26 9mm Handgun
(2) TCP .380 cal Handguns
Rocky .22 Revolver
75 Round .762 cal Drum Magazine
50 Round 9 mm Glock Drum Magazine
10 High Capacity Magazines
Large Quantity of Assorted Ammunition
A Bullet Resistant Vest
A 29-year-old man was arrested and charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

Left to Right: Lt. Cain, P.O. Sharma, P.O. Grieco, P.O. Fadel, Det. Mayer / NYPD

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Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton today announced the indictments of 10 men who allegedly trafficked 50 firearms from out of state for sale to an undercover NYPD detective in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx.

District Attorney Clark said, “These defendants allegedly sold 50 weapons, and some conspired to bring in 30 more guns to feed their greed at the expense of life and safety in the Bronx. A week before Christmas, they allegedly delivered one of the firearms to the undercover detective gift-wrapped. These instruments of death were just ordinary merchandise to them.

“This case shows, once again, how guns purchased legally in other states can end up on our streets in the hands of criminals. It also highlights the courage and tenacity of our NYPD officers, and I want to thank the Firearms Investigation Unit and specifically the detectives who risked their lives each time they purchased a gun from these defendants.”

“The trafficking of illegal firearms into New York City is a quick way to attract the full attention of the New York City Police Department,” said Police Commissioner William Bratton. “The undercover detectives who went into harm’s way during this investigation demonstrated a commitment to protecting the public safety. I commend the investigators of the NYPD’s Firearms Investigations Unit and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, whose tenacity in following the evidence resulted in the seizure of more than 50 weapons from the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx.”

District Attorney Clark said the defendants are charged with first-degree Criminal Sale of a Firearm, second-degree Criminal Sale of a Firearm, third-degree Criminal Sale of a Firearm, second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, third-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon and Conspiracy. If convicted of the top charge, five of the defendants face up to 25 years in prison.

Seven of the defendants were due to be arraigned today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg. They are due back in court on August 4, 2016. Three others are awaiting extradition.

The investigation dubbed “Operation Straight Outta Highbridge” began nearly a year ago and uncovered networks of gun traffickers operating in Highbridge, just north of Yankee Stadium.

According to the indictments, defendants Marvin Guzman (“Cuba”) and his brother, Melwin Guzman (“MG”), who both live in an apartment building at 101 West 165th Street, allegedly headed an operation that trafficked semi-automatic pistols of all calibers, as well as a WASR-10, an AK-47-style assault rifle.

According to the indictment, their cousins, Kelvi Acosta (“Kev”) and Miguel Paredes, both of Allentown, Pennsylvania, allegedly transported firearms from outside of New York State for sale in the Bronx. David Dippre allegedly was one supplier who purchased firearms from gun stores in Pennsylvania that were transported to the Bronx by Paredes. In total this group was responsible for the sale of 40 guns to an undercover.

In March, 2016, a wiretap was authorized and, according to the indictment, Marvin Guzman allegedly began plotting with Ahmed Khan, a former Bronx resident living in Katy, Texas, to purchase and transport an additional 30 firearms from Texas. In May, Khan arranged a meeting in Texas between Marvin Guzman and a gun supplier, described as a gang member.

Just before the deal was to take place, the NYPD arrested the Guzmans and Acosta in the Bronx, after the Guzmans were stabbed on July 6 in an incident unrelated to the case.

The second group of gun traffickers consisted of Joseph Mincey, a resident of Brunswick, Georgia, who allegedly transported seven firearms from Georgia to Bashiri (“Bash”) Thompson, a Highbridge resident who allegedly sold them in the Bronx to an undercover.

Two other Bronx residents are charged and awaiting arraignment.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Thomas Boyle and Vladimir Kocheulov of the Criminal Enterprise Bureau, under the supervision of James Goward, Chief of the Criminal Enterprise Bureau; Tarek A. Rahman, Chief of the Special Investigations Unit; Stuart P. Levy, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and Jean T. Walsh, Chief of the Investigations Division.

District Attorney Clark thanked Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, Assistant Chief James Essig, Deputy Inspector Brian Gill, Captain Jonathan Korabel, Lt. Thomas McPartland, Sgt. Matt Griffin, and Detectives Douglas Lansing and Chris Shaughnessy. She also thanked the Brunswick, GA Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police for their assistance in the case.

The post NYPD Announces Takedown Of Gunrunners Who Sold 50 Firearms To Undercover Detective appeared first on Breaking911.

NEW YORK — Cops from the 110 Precinct in Queens recovered a Mac-10 after they observed a driver making an illegal U-Turn earlier in July.

Anti-Crime Police Officer’s Ruotolo and Lamneck were on patrol when they stopped the driver at the intersection of 126 Street and 37 Avenue. When the police officers approached the black Mercedes Benz they smelled a strong odor of marijuana.

The officers ordered the driver out of the car and further investigation led to the loaded firearm being discovered inside the vehicle.

A loaded Mac-10, a large quantity of marijuana and narcotics were found and the 34-year-old man was arrested and charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Criminal Possession of Marijuana.

The post NYPD Car Stop Results In Illegal Gun, Drugs Recovered appeared first on Breaking911.

NASHVILLE — A crate of marijuana shipped from Phoenix for distribution to street dealers in Nashville has been intercepted by narcotics detectives assigned to the MNPD’s Specialized Investigations Division.

Detectives on Thursday received information that the 327 pound wooden crate located at a local freight company could be tied to criminal activity. Police dog Caine checked the crate and indicated to the presence of drug odor.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the crate, which was found to contain approximately 140 pounds of marijuana. As undercover detectives watched, the crate was delivered to the scheduled address on Ryan Allen Circle in the Whites Creek area.

Tusabi Edwards, 40, of Phoenix, who detectives later learned flew into Nashville Wednesday, met the delivery driver, signed for the crate, and asked that it be placed in the garage. Edwards and co-defendant Terrence Reames, 38, of Ryan Allen Circle, then got into a car to leave the premises and were stopped by officers.

Edwards declined to be interviewed. Reames said that Edwards had come to Nashville to oversee the marijuana load. Reames said he was being paid to provide a place to breakdown the marijuana for resale on Nashville’s streets.

Edwards is being held in lieu of $200,000 bond. Reames’ bond is set at $50,000.

MNPD

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TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Nogales recently arrested a Mexican woman and a juvenile male U.S. citizen during separate attempts to smuggle cocaine and heroin, worth more than $822,500, into the United States.

CBP officers at the Port of DeConcini made the larger seizure July 24 after referring the woman for a secondary inspection of her Chevrolet Malibu. During the inspection, a CBP canine alerted to a compartment near the vehicle’s trunk. Inside, officers found more than 37.5 pounds of heroin and more than 4 pounds of cocaine. Combined, the drugs are worth in excess of $704,000.

CBP officers at the Mariposa crossing arrested the juvenile July 23 after finding almost 7 pounds of heroin, worth more than $118,500, in his laptop computer, keyboard and other belongings during a secondary inspection of a Tufesa passenger bus. Officers made the discovery using a non-intrusive devise to inspect passengers’ baggage.

Officers seized all drugs and the woman’s vehicle, and turned both subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CBP’s Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation’s food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.

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LOS ANGELES —U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) seized 11.24 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, hidden within the lining of a passenger’s suitcase on July 18th. The estimated value of the seized contraband is $160,000.

CBP Officers referred a 27-year-old U.S. citizen female from San Ysidro, CA that was arriving from Guadalajara, Mexico for a secondary inspection due to her nervous behavior. A further inspection of the passenger’s baggage revealed a false compartment containing tape-wrapped packages of crystallized methamphetamine.

“Once again, the training, expertise and commitment of our LAX CBP Officers prevented dangerous narcotics from entering and harming our community.” said Mitchell Merriam, CBP Los Angeles International Airport Port Director.

The passenger was subsequently arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agents, along with the seized contraband, for further investigation.

CBP is responsible for inspecting all arriving and departing international passengers, to include conducting searches for narcotics, weapons, currency, agriculture, and other prohibited or illicit products. On a typical day, CBP seizes more than 9,000 pounds of narcotics at and between our nation’s 328 international ports of entry.

CBP

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Celina, OH — (News Release / Mercer County Sheriff) — Sheriff Jeff Grey reports the arrest of two individuals on a drug related incident. On August 1, 2016 a deputy received information that two females were on their way to Dayton to purchase drugs and would then be returning to Mercer County.

The caller described the females by name, and also described what they would be driving, and also advised the females would hide the drugs inside their body cavities if they suspected they would get pulled over.

At 10:12 PM deputies initiated a stop on the suspect vehicle on Coldwater Creek Road east of St Anthony Road, for a traffic infraction. A canine was requested to the stop and Celina PD’s canine Peng alerted to the vehicle, but no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found inside the vehicle.

Based on the tip information and information gathered at the traffic stop, deputies applied for and were granted body cavity search warrants. Prior to the search warrants being secured, both the female driver and female passenger each removed a syringe from their vaginal cavity area.

The body cavity search warrant was executed at Mercer Health, and nothing else was found.

Both females were incarcerated at the Mercer County Adult Detention Facility on initial charges of possession of drug abuse instruments, a misdemeanor of the second degree. Both females are being held on $100,000.00 bond subject to 10%. Deputies were assisted by members of the Grand Lake Drug Task Force, Celina Police Department, and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

The case will be forwarded to the Mercer County Prosecutor for review of additional charges.

Arrested were:
Paige W. Waterman, age 29 of 5019 Frahm Pike, Celina.
Chelsie M. Hedge, age 21 of 8038 US Rte. 33, Celina.

Sheriff Grey states body cavity search warrants are rare; however, due to the health and safety risks of those involved, these type of warrants will become more common, and necessary. This is yet another obstacle law enforcement has to deal with not only on the street, but also inside the Adult Detention Facility with drugs, and drug paraphernalia being concealed and transported inside body cavities.

The post 2 Women Arrested After Syringes Found Inside Private Parts appeared first on Breaking911.

Kokomo – Today, the quick actions of Indiana State Police Master Trooper Joe Swisher, Kokomo Police officers, and Kokomo medics most likely saved the life of an Indianapolis, IN woman.

At approximately 12:52 p.m., Howard County Dispatch broadcasted a possible drug overdose, in a vehicle, at Mohr Drive near Stafford Drive, in Kokomo. Master Trooper Swisher and officers from the Kokomo Police Department responded to the call, arriving at the vehicle in approximately two minutes. The officers found Katherine Potts, 24, Indianapolis, IN laying on the roadside unconscious, with lips turning blue, and not breathing.

Potts had allegedly overdosed on heroin, while riding in a Chevrolet Cobalt with her boyfriend. The boyfriend had removed Potts from the car and was performing cardio pulmonary resuscitation when police officers arrived. The officers immediately rendered aide to Potts. Master Trooper Swisher put recent training to use and administered a nasal spray dose of Narcan (Naloxone) to Potts. The lifesaving drug revived Potts, who started breathing and normal color returned to her lips. She had to be given a second dose of Narcan, by responding paramedics, to bring her to full consciousness. Potts was transported, by ambulance, to a Kokomo hospital for further treatment.

Narcan is a medicine that blocks the effects of opioids and reverses an overdose. After a dose of Narcan, a person who has overdosed on opioids should begin to breathe more normally and it should become easier to wake them up.

Master Trooper Swisher received training and was issued his Narcan kit last Wednesday.

The post Hero Trooper Revives Woman from Suspected Heroin Overdose appeared first on Breaking911.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered a woman yesterday morning who was allegedly smuggling bundles of cocaine while traveling with two children along Interstate 5 near San Clemente.

At approximately 10 a.m., a Border Patrol K-9 handler stopped a 2001 Honda Accord driven by a 25-year-old female on northbound I-5, near the Cristianitos Rd. exit. The vehicle was also occupied by two children, a 2-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. During the stop, the agent’s K-9 alerted to the vehicle and agents conducted a search of the interior, resulting in the discovery of 14 bundles of cocaine.

Three bundles of cocaine were stashed in the front passenger seat, where the boy sat. The rear passenger seat, where the girl sat, contained eight packages of cocaine. Three additional packages of cocaine were hidden inside the driver’s seat. The 14 bundles weighed a total of 38.25 pounds and has an estimated street value of $459,000.

Patrol Agent in Charge Thomas Blanks said, “It is very sad to see innocent children entangled in this shameful attempt to smuggle illicit narcotics.”

The woman was arrested and turned over to a task force led by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The children were turned over to San Diego County Child Welfare Services. The vehicle was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.

As of July 31, 2016, San Diego Sector has intercepted 1,069 pounds of cocaine during fiscal year 2016.

To prevent the illicit smuggling of humans, drugs, and other contraband, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance in corridors of egress away from our Nation’s borders. To report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact San Diego Sector at (619) 498-9900.

CBP

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COLUMBUS, NM — U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations officers working at the Columbus port of entry seized 719.5 pounds of marijuana Friday. The estimated street value of the drug load is $575,600.

“Smugglers went to great lengths in an effort to disguise this drug shipment, but CBP officers at the port worked harder to find it,” said Robert Reza, CBP Columbus Port Director.

The events leading to the seizure began shortly after 3 p.m. Friday when a 1999 Freightliner tractor towing a flatbed trailer loaded with a “belly dump” arrived at the port from Mexico. CBP officers working at the port noted a number of issues with the shipment and initiated a secondary exam during which they spotted marijuana bundles hidden within the beams of the cargo shipment. A CBP drug sniffing dog searched the vehicle and also alerted to the belly dump.

CBP officers continued their exam. A total of 16 steel containers were removed from the side support beams of the belly dump. The containers were cut open and 17 large blocks of compressed marijuana were removed. The drugs and conveyance were seized. No arrests were made and the investigation continues.

While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.

The post CBP Officers Discover Drug Load in Rails of ‘Belly Dump’ appeared first on Breaking911.

Eight Individuals Of Purported Rival Gangs Shot Allegedly By Multiple “Pop On Site” Gang Members; Defendants Allegedly Bragged About Shootings on Social Media Before And After Incidents

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton, today announced that a Queens County grand jury has indicted 18 alleged members and associates of the violent Far Rockaway street gang known as “Pop On Site” (“POS”) – which is also known as “Fully Loaded Outta Control Crips” (“FLOCC”) and “Young Flocc Boys” (“YFB”) – on charges of conspiring to murder and assault members of rival street gangs, as well as conspiring to acquire firearms in order to assert and maintain control over a section of Rockaway Beach that they consider their territory and to seek revenge for the shooting of their own members.

District Attorney Brown said, “The defendants are variously accused of turning neighborhood streets into a war zone by acting in concert with one or more of their co-defendants to shoot and wound eight individuals over a one-year-period between 2014 and 2015. Their alleged criminal and violent and reckless acts have no place in a civilized society.”

District Attorney Brown continued, “This indictment is another example of police and prosecutors working together to eliminate gang violence that too often plagues our neighborhoods and strikes at the heart of a unified and criminally active group of young people who threaten the lives and safety of innocent bystanders.”

“The violence allegedly perpetrated by the defendants in this case is daunting and pervasive,” said Police Commissioner Bratton. Their ingenuity in devising a unique communication code did nothing to impede our investigation. Rather, the full scope of our resources was brought to bear in the name of justice for the residents of Rockaway Beach – securing an indictment against 18 indictments on an array of violent charges. I want to thank the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Division and Violence Reduction Task Force for their resilience and attention to detail throughout this long-term investigation. I also want to recognize the excellent work of our partners at the Queens District Attorney’s Office.”

The 18 defendants – who range in age from 16 to 22 – are alleged to have operated as the POS street gang within the confines of the New York City Police Department’s 100th Precinct, specifically the geographical area of Beach 81st Street to Beach 86th Street between Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Rockaway Freeway in the Queens neighborhood of Rockaway Beach. The criminal charges are set forth in a 90-count indictment. (See Addendum for details on each defendant)

The long-term investigation – which was spearheaded by the New York City Police Department’s Gun Violence Suppression Division, Violence Reduction Task Force, and the Queens District Attorney’s Narcotics Investigations Bureau – utilized various investigative techniques, including the monitoring of telephone conversations and conversations on social media pages belonging to gang members. It is alleged that gang members allegedly discussed on social media shootings that were being planned or bragging afterwards about the shootings. During the course of the conspiracies, POS gang members used a distinctive system of coded language and phrases which allowed them to communicate with one another to elude others and law enforcement. Among this coded language were references to committing shootings, including “drill,” “touched,” “bangout,” and “its litt.” Additionally, code words and phrases were used to refer to firearms, including “hammer,” “bitch,” “Shawty,” and “whoopty.” It was also part of the conspiracies for the indicted defendants to keep incarcerated members of the POS gang informed of the activities and events related to the gang, including, but not limited to, acts of violence.

According to the indictment, throughout the investigation, prosecutors and members of the NYPD reviewed thousands of pages of social media conversations, images and video. For example, it is alleged that POS member Zameer Khan shot a rival gang member in the left calf and right thigh at approximately 2:00 a.m. on August 2, 2014, leaving five 9mm shell casings and five bullet fragments in front of the shooting location on Beach Channel Drive in Queens. On August 5, 2014, Khan allegedly caused or permitted to be posted on Facebook a message to defendant Unique Wooden asking whether Wooden had heard that Khan shot a rival gang member on Beach Channel Drive. (“Was good bro, yu Hurd bout tht lil movie I made infront the 60es store lml”)

In a 90-count indictment, the 18 defendants, and other members and associates of the POS gang, are accused of conspiring between April 2014 and December 2015 to obtain firearms and to murder or assault rival street gang members from neighboring areas in Far Rockaway for the purpose of asserting dominion and control over their geographical territory, to enhance their status in the POS gang and to retaliate against, but not limited to, 70Gs, Body Squad and Gang of Apes (GOA) gang members.

It is alleged that during the course of the conspiracy, POS members and members of rival gangs 70Gs, Body Squad and Gang of Apes became engaged in a violent gang rivalry, in which POS members assaulted and shot rival gang members and often discussed their efforts and retaliation over social media and in telephone conversations.

It is also alleged that as part of the conspiracy, POS members over 18 years old instructed juveniles – between the ages of 14 and 16 – to murder rival gang members, to engage in acts of gun violence and physical violence against rival gang members and to carry or use firearms for the older POS members.

Eleven of the defendants were arraigned yesterday before Queens County Supreme Court Justice Robert Kohm. The defendants were: Unique Wooden, Romello Grey, Deion Lowery, Qwavon Harris, Quentin Lowery, Taquan Brathwaite, David Miley, Keith Brown, Issiah Yusef, Jermaine Mackey and Dwayne Lyttle. Bail was variously set at $250,000 to $550,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing for each defendant (see Addendum for details).

The investigation was conducted by the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Division, Violence Reduction Task Force with Detective Douglas Rome as the case officer, under the supervision of Sergeant Kevin McLaughlin, Lieutenant Richard Zacarese and the overall supervision of Assistant Chief James Essig, Commanding Officer of the Gun Violence Suppression Division.

Assistant District Attorney Julie S. Trivedi, Chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit within District Attorney Brown’s Narcotics Investigations Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Mark L. Katz, Deputy Narcotics Investigation Bureau Chief, are prosecuting the cases under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Wilbert J. LeMelle, Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

ADDENDUM

Zameer Khan (a.k.a. Za), 21, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm.

Unique Wooden (a.k.a. Gunz), 21, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $550,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Romello Grey (a.k.a. Seven), 16, of Far Rockaway, is charged with second- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Deion Lowery, (a.k.a. Eight), 19, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault, first- and second-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Qwavon Harris (a.k.a. Qwa), 21, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Quentin Lowery (a.k.a. Seven), 19, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault, criminal possession of a firearm and second-degree reckless endangerment. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Taquan Brathwaite (a.k.a. Burna), 20, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Cyrenious Williams (a.k.a. Cy), 20, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault, first- and second-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm.

David Miley (a.k.a. Milly), 17, of Far Rockaway, is charged with second- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second- degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Anthony Turner, (a.k.a. Bhe Jay), 21, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm.

Dante Hunter (a.k.a. Demon, Inferno), 17, of Far Rockaway, is charged with second- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm.

Keith Brown (a.k.a. Ko), 20, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Jacob Williams, 22, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm.

Issiah Yusef, 21, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third-and fourth-degree conspiracy, second- degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree attempted assault, first- and second-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $250,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Jermaine Mackey (a.k.a. Maine), 16, of Astoria, Queens, is charged with second- and fourth degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second- degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault, first- and second-degree reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Dwayne Lyttle (a.k.a. Wayne), 17, of the Bronx, is charged with second- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second- degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault, first- and second-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm. Bail was set at $500,000 with a bail sufficiency hearing.

Jahmeek Bey-Jones (a.k.a. Jah), 17, of Far Rockaway, is charged with second- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm.

Armani Wiliams (a.k.a. Lil Flocc, Flocc), 19, of Far Rockaway, is charged with first-, second-, third- and fourth- degree conspiracy, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first- degree attempted assault, first- and second-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm.

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A new Gallup poll out Monday finds that percent of American adults who say they currently smoke marijuana has nearly doubled over the past three years.

In 2013, only 7 percent of adults said they were marijuana smokers. When Gallup asked again in July of this year, 13 percent admitted to current marijuana use. That works out to more than 33 million adult marijuana users in the U.S. If America’s marijuana users resided in one state, it would be bigger than Texas and second only to California in population.

There are currently about 40 million cigarette smokers in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Given that cigarette use is in decline, marijuana use could become more prevalent than cigarette use in just a few years’ time.

There are likely several factors driving these numbers. Since 2013, recreational marijuana markets opened in Colorado and Washington, and several other states voted to legalize marijuana in the fall 2014. It’s likely that adults in those places are taking advantage of the new opportunities to indulge legally.

Part of the rise may also be due to decreased social stigma surrounding marijuana use. National surveys show support for legal marijuana hovering in the 55 percent to 60 percent range. Certain legislators have called for restrictions on marijuana to be loosened at the federal level use or to legalize it completely.

Recreational marijuana use remains illegal at the federal level and in most states. Police are arrested for possessing marijuana at record-high rates — more than 1,700 per day, according to 2014 data from the FBI.

Still, attitudes toward marijuana use have come a long way from the “this is your brain on drugs” era of the 1980s and ’90s, when Ronald Reagan was calling marijuana “the most dangerous drug in the United States” and top law enforcement officials were publicly calling for marijuana smokers to be “taken out and shot.”

Much of this shift in attitudes could be due to lived experience. In the late 1960s, fewer than 5 percent of adults told Gallup they had ever smoked marijuana. Today that number is up to 43 percent. Regardless of whether they use it currently, nearly half of American adults now have first-hand experience using marijuana.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Christopher Ingraham

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Not yet 6 months old, a once-battered and beaten Dinah Paige Whited lay motionless in a Georgia hospital bed, where her parents – accused in the abuse that put her there – were allowed to say their last goodbyes before their baby girl took her last breath.

Her father, Justin Whited, is charged with aggravated battery for an April 23 beating that left her small body full of broken bones and a bleeding brain, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Her mother, Jamie, is charged with cruelty to children for failing to stop him.

Both were granted permission to see her Monday morning before doctors in Atlanta removed “Baby Dinah” from the machine that had been keeping her alive.

Neither of the parents’ attorneys were immediately available for comment.

Friends and family members said the couple, who had been together since their teen years, struggled with drug abuse and domestic issues, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Jamie Whited’s mother told the newspaper that her daughter had been in legal trouble for possession of methamphetamine and, police said, Jamie later admitted that she was on prescription painkillers the day her child nearly stopped breathing on her own.

Her mother said Justin Whited, who also allegedly abused drugs, was angry and controlling – once taking a swing at his wife and putting his fist through a wall.

Justin’s mother disputed the accusations.

Indeed, from the outside, neighbors said they seemed a happy family of three. “They seemed like good people,” Mary Strong, a neighbor, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month. “I didn’t see them argue.”

In April, Dinah’s maternal grandmother, Paige Carson-Barrett, posted a photo on Facebook showing the then-nearly 2-month-old.

“Look who is all dressed up and ready to go shopping,” Carson-Barrett wrote about the baby girl, who was wearing a soft, pink hat and blue floral dress. “Dinah Paige is spending the weekend with her Gammy.”

Just a week later, her young life was coming to an end.

The morning of April 23, Justin Whited dialed 911.

He told police that when he woke up, his daughter was wailing and gasping for air, according to court documents cited by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Her lips turned blue and, eventually, she went quiet.

Police pulled up to the home in Monroe, near Atlanta.

“As I was talking with Justin and Jamie Whited, I was a little puzzled that they weren’t showing any emotions,” an officer wrote in the report, according to the newspaper. “Mr. Whited appeared to be calm and collected and Ms. Whited had been standing in the doorway, emotionless.”

A neighbor told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that paramedics carried the baby, who “looked lifeless,” from the house and rushed her to a nearby hospital.

There, doctors determined that her brain no longer functioned, but for months they were unable to remove her from life support because her father wouldn’t consent.

“The doctors [have] made several attempts by conference calls to the father in jail to explain this baby will never live a normal life,” Susan Ronnie Ogle, a family friend, wrote on a GoFundMe page for the child. “She will never walk, talk, or play. She has no quality of life.”

“Please continue to pray for this sweet baby girl and her family,” she added. “The decisions they face are unbearable.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that once his daughter died, Justin Whited could be charged with her murder. He ultimately agreed to allow her to be removed from life support.

Carson-Barrett, Dinah’s grandmother, wrote on Facebook in June that the infant’s family had all but lost her.

“We love Dinah Paige and will miss her everyday but under the circumstances we have been missing her for a long time already,” she wrote. “Please know how grateful and blessed we are for each and everyone of you.”

On Monday afternoon, Justin and Jamie Whited were transported from jail to the hospital in Atlanta where, a juvenile court judge had ordered, the infant would be removed from life support and allowed to die.

Shortly after 3 p.m., according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she took her last breath.

“Dinah went to be in the arms of our Lord yesterday at 3:31,” someone posted on her paternal grandparents’ Facebook page. “They took her off life support at 12, and she was a fighter, she hung on for a while. But we now know that Dinah is healed and happy and with our father. Our hearts are burdened and broken, but knowing where she’s at gives us peace.

“Please continue to pray for our family, but we still have a long road ahead of us with other issues surrounding Dinah.”

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Lindsey Bever 

Photo source: farrahgray.com

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NEW YORK — (NYPD News) — Cops in Brooklyn arrested four men in possession of illegal firearms and credit card skimming devices last week. Officers from the 73 Precinct were on patrol near Thomas Boylan Street when they noticed four men inside of an idling car possibly drinking alcohol.

The officers stopped and as they approached the white Buick they observed one of the four men swiping credit cards through a skimmer device and a gun near another occupant of the car.

The four men were removed from the car and taken into custody. The driver was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm and upon further investigation the men were found to be in possession of numerous drivers licenses from various states with the names and addresses matching the fraudulent credit cards.

A loaded Davis Industries .32 caliber handgun and a loaded .38 caliber Taurus handgun were recovered, along with two laptops and a skimming device. The four men were all charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2, Criminal Possession of a Forgery Device and Forgery 2.

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested two people Aug. 8 for their alleged involvement in separate smuggling attempts at the Port of Nogales.

Officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred a 33-year-old Tucson woman for further inspection when she entered the U.S. through a pedestrian lane. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs under her clothing, officers found more than a quarter of a pound of cocaine, worth nearly $3,000, hidden in a body cavity.

A few hours later at the Morley pedestrian crossing, officers referred an 18-year-old male Nogales, Arizona resident for further inspection and found more than a pound of heroin, worth a little more than $20,700, shaped as an insole within the subject’s shoes.

CBP officers seized all drugs and turned both suspects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

CBP

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NEW YORK — (NYPD News) — NYPD Housing cops recovered an AK-47 assault rifle last Tuesday after they observed men driving in a vehicle not wearing seat belts in East New York.

Anti-Crime Police Officers Agosto and Jackson of Police Service Area 2 observed two men inside a Honda Civic not wearing their seat belts while driving along Brooklyn’s Georgia Avenue shortly after noon time in.

When the officers tried to stop the vehicle the driver sped away, going against traffic and ignoring numerous stop signs. The police officers followed the car until they observed the driver strike another vehicle and crash into a parked car. The two men fled on foot, but the driver was apprehended after a short chase.

A loaded AK-47 assault rifle was later recovered inside the vehicle. The 29-year-old man was charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Reckless Endangerment and numerous traffic violations.

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A massive study published this month in the Journal of Drug Issues found that the proportion of marijuana users who smoke daily has rapidly grown, and that many of those frequent users are poor and lack a high-school diploma.

Examining a decade of federal surveys of drug use conducted between 2002 and 2013, study authors Steven Davenport and Jonathan Caulkins paint one of the clearest pictures yet of the demographics of current marijuana use in the U.S. They found that the profile of marijuana users is much closer to cigarette smokers than alcohol drinkers, and that a handful of users consume much of the marijuana used in the U.S.

“In the early 1990s only one in nine past-month (marijuana) users reported using daily or near-daily,” Davenport and Caulkins write. “Now it is fully one in three. Daily or near-daily users now account for over two-thirds of self-reported days of use (68%).”

These usage patterns are similar to what’s seen among tobacco users. “What’s going on here is that over the last 20 years marijuana went from being used like alcohol to being used more like tobacco, in the sense of lots of people using it every day,” Caulkins said in an email.

Adults with less than a high school education accounted for 19 percent of all marijuana use in 2012 and 2013 (compared to 13 percent of the total adult population), according to the survey. This is similar to their 20 percent share of all cigarette use, but considerably higher than their 8 percent share of all alcohol use.

Similarly, Americans of all ages with a household income of less than $20,000 accounted for 29 percent of all marijuana use and 27 percent of all cigarette use, compared to only 13 percent of all alcohol use and 19 percent of the total adult population.

The concentration of use among poorer households means that many marijuana users are spending a high proportion of their income on their marijuana habit. Users who spend fully one quarter of their income on weed account for 15 percent of all marijuana use.

One interesting finding is that over the past 10 years as many states have liberalized their marijuana policies, marijuana arrests are down while marijuana purchases are up. This means that the risk of getting arrested for marijuana use has fallen sharply since 2002. That year, there was one marijuana arrest for every 550 marijuana purchases, according to Davenport and Caulkins. By 2013, there was one marijuana arrest for every 1,090 purchases.

“The criminal risk per marijuana transaction has fallen by half,” they conclude. Much of that risk is still born by non-white marijuana users.

Davenport and Caulkins stress that since the study was conducted over a period preceding the opening of recreational marijuana markets in Colorado and Washington, it doesn’t offer any evidence on the merits or lack thereof of legalization.

“Our results can in no way be interpreted as evidence toward the successes or failures of marijuana legalization or even medical marijuana laws,” they write.

However, they say their research presents a number of things to consider as states like California, Arizona and Maine vote on marijuana legalization this fall.

“Most people who have used marijuana in the past year are in full control of their use, and are generally happy with that use,” Caulkins said in an email. But, “consumption is highly concentrated among the smaller number of daily & near-daily users, and they tend to be less educated, less affluent, and less in control of their use.”

The median marijuana user, in other words, may be someone who indulges periodically but generally doesn’t consume a lot of it. However, most of the marijuana consumed in the U.S. isn’t consumed by the median marijuana user, but rather by the very heavy users who smoke daily or more.

“There is a sharp contrast between what policy is best for the typical user versus what is best for the people who consume most of the marijuana,” Caulkins said. Legalization may not change much in the life of the typical marijuana user. But heavy users who overindulge may find it even easier to do so when marijuana is legal and cheaper to buy.

The findings support the argument for legalization measures to be accompanied by public health protections — like treatment programs and public awareness campaigns educating people about the risks of overuse.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Christopher Ingraham

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Both sides of Julian Pesina’s double life were closing in on his secrets.

Pesina was a police officer in Balcones Heights, a small city of 3,000 people near San Antonio, Texas. But he also claimed allegiance to the Mexican Mafia, a notorious gang known for extortion and precision executions.

Pesina sold drugs for the Texas Mexican Mafia and paid a weekly tax, or “dime,” for his tattoo parlor, according to court documents. Hidden beneath his police uniform, Pesina was covered with illustrious gang tattoos.

In 2014, federal investigators were probing Pesina’s ties to the ruthless, violent gang and getting close to making an arrest that could send him to prison for years. But Texas Mexican Mafia members, who learned of his police job from Facebook, sentenced Pesina to death instead.

Jerry “Spooks” Idrogo was ordered to execute him.

According to court documents, Idrogo, a sergeant in the Texas Mexican Mafia, selected two men to help kill Pesina; one was an aspiring gang member, the other was in bad standing with the Texas Mexican Mafia and hoped to redeem himself with a kill.

On May 4, 2014, Idrogo called Pesina, saying he was in a hurry and wanted to pick up the “dime” outside Pesina’s tattoo parlor, Notorious Ink.

When Pesina walked up to the car to pay Idrogo, the other gang members rushed around the building, wearing masks.

One carried a shotgun. The other clutched a pistol.

Pesina was shot and killed in the street – though the gunmen waited until Pesina had paid his 10 percent tax before opening fire, according to federal investigators.

Video of Pesina’s execution was captured on a pole-mounted camera FBI agents had set up to watch his business and build their case, according to the San Antonio Express-News. FBI sources told the newspaper they had planned to arrest Pesina within a week when he was killed in cold blood.

On Friday, Idrogo pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to participate in a “Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization.”

As part of the plea, Idrogo admitted he was was responsible for Pesina’s slaying and the death of another man, Texas Mexican Mafia member Billy Padilla, who was executed in 2013 “for failing to turn over drug proceeds to the organization,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

When he’s sentenced in November, Idrogo faces life in federal prison.

The Mexican Mafia – also known as “La Eme,” Spanish for “the M,” and as “Mexikanemi” – has existed for more than 60 years, according to an Associated Press story on a gang sweep in 2007.

The organization “was formed by Mexican-American inmates in a Northern California prison in the 1950s as a front against racist attacks,” the AP noted. “It has since fanned out across the state prison system and to Mexican and U.S. streets.”

“Authorities say the self-proclaimed “gang of all gangs” has cowed a who’s who of the state’s deadliest gangs – including Aryan Brotherhood and 18th Street – into paying taxes in their turf …

” ‘La Eme’ hits gangs who refuse the arrangement with a so-called ‘green light,’ making them a target for retaliation by the gang and its allies.The gang’s Texas offshoot gained power in the 1980s, according to court documents.”

Behind bars, gang members trafficked drugs and banded together for protection. When members were released, they expanded the enterprise – and the violence – to the streets.

Many Texas Mexican Mafia members were from San Antonio, which became the branch headquarters. Members could join only if they were asked by a “sponsor” or a “padrino.”

To gain membership, inductees had to commit a criminal act- including the murder of an enemy.

And according to the Mexican Mafia’s constitution, cooperation with law enforcement was punishable by death.

Pesina’s execution in 2014 – with a shotgun and pistol – was a textbook example of a Mexican Mafia hit, according to Tony Rafael, the pen name of the author of a book about the gang.

“The smaller weapon is used to pin down or debilitate the target,” Rafael told The Washington Post. “And then they finish them off with the rifle.”

Rafael said it’s not uncommon to find civil servants among the mafia’s ranks.

One of the gang’s strengths, he said, is its ability to coerce people and even other gangs into working to benefit “La Eme.”

“They’re very, very good of manipulating people,” Rafael said. “They’ve had female corrections officers and manipulated them into literally marrying them. Prior to marrying them, these (officers) smuggled food and drugs into the jail.

“They’ve corrupted social workers to do their bidding for them, and occasionally police officers too. They’ll find a weak spot. They’ll befriend you, try to figure out what makes you tick. If you’re short of cash, they’ll get you cash. If it’s drugs, they’ll get you drugs. If it’s women, they’ll get you that too. They’re excellent, excellent manipulators.”

The gang only has about 300 “made” members in the United States, Rafael said.

But the Mexican Mafia’s number swells into the thousands when you count those who work with “La Eme” in the hopes of becoming “carnales,” or brothers, he said.

In a 2015 Texas Gang Threat Assessment, the state’s Department of Safety estimated there were 4,700 Texas Mexican Mafia members and associates, organized into clearly defined ranks.

The gang has a paramilitary model, with a distinction between ranks.

Idrogo, a sergeant, was on one of the lowest rungs, just above a soldier.

Senior leaders are able to issue orders to subordinates, according to the assessment, which classifies the Mexican Mafia as a Tier 1 gang.

“These groups pose the greatest gang threat to Texas due to their relationships with Mexican cartels, high levels of transnational criminal activity, level of violence, and overall statewide presence,” the assessment said.

Sending gang leaders to prison isn’t enough to stymie the gang, Rafael said. Once imprisoned, the highest ranking members relay messages to subordinates outside using cellphones, smuggled notes and even family visitors.

Their spirit of cooperation has been extended to Mexican drug cartels in the last decade, said Rafael, whose book argues that the the Mexican Mafia could be “the most dangerous gang in America.”

Rafael said because the Mexican Mafia has a stranglehold on the prison systems in California and Texas, street gangs, drug dealers and unaffiliated criminals are intimidated into working with them in and out of prison.

“They run virtually every street gang in California,” he said. “Any kid growing up 14, 15, 16 years old knows that if he’s going to continue capering [committing crimes], he better make his peace with the Mafia well before he ends up in prison. He needs people that respect him, people that will protect him. They tell them ‘You do what we tell you when you’re on the street, we’ll take care of you in prison.'”

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

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Former army commando charged with war crimes in his native country

LOS ANGELES – (ICE) — A former member of the Guatemalan army, whom witnesses say participated in a massacre there more than three decades ago that claimed over 200 lives, was deported to his native country Wednesday, capping a longstanding effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to win the ex-commando’s removal from the United States.

Santos Lopez Alonzo, 64, arrived in Guatemala at around noon local time on board an ICE Air Operations charter removal flight and was immediately turned over to Guatemalan law enforcement officials. The former member of an elite Guatemalan army unit known as the Kaibiles is wanted in his native country on criminal charges for his role in the Dos Erres massacre. The charges are detailed in an arrest warrant issued by Guatemalan authorities in 2002.

Guatemalan authorities allege Lopez was among some 20 Kaibiles who murdered more than 200 men, women, and children in the village of Las Dos Erres in December 1982. The Kaibiles had gone to the remote Guatemalan settlement seeking to locate insurgents allegedly responsible for the ambush of an army convoy nearby that resulted in the killing of 21 soldiers and the theft of several military rifles. After arriving in the village in the middle of the night, the Kaibiles began searching for the missing weapons, forcing the residents from their homes and interrogating them about the stolen guns. No rifles were recovered.

The soldiers then proceeded to systematically murder the villagers. According to witnesses and documents filed in U.S. courts, over the course of two days the Kaibiles massacred men, women, and children; raped many women and girls; and forced pregnant women to miscarry before killing them. Many of the bodies were thrown into the village’s well and others were left in a nearby wooded area. The settlement was then razed to the ground.

Approximately 12 years after the Dos Erres massacre, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) exhumed the village’s 40-foot well and recovered 162 skeletons, including many belonging to young children.

“The long-awaited return of this human rights violator to his native country is hugely gratifying for the many men and women in ICE who work tirelessly to seek justice in these kinds of cases,” said ICE Deputy Director Daniel Ragsdale. “While more than three decades have passed since the Kaibiles commandos indiscriminately slaughtered dozens of innocent men, women and children, it’s a tragedy their loved ones will never forget. We owe it to them, and to all victims of war crimes and human rights abuses around the world, to use every resource at our disposal to ensure the U.S. offers no refuge for those involved in such atrocities.”

Lopez is the fourth Dos Erres massacre participant living in the U.S. to be targeted by ICE for enforcement action. Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Lopez was originally arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol in 1999 at a traffic checkpoint near Kingsville, Texas. He was subsequently ordered deported by an immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review and removed to Guatemala in June of that year.

Lopez illegally re-entered the U.S. and, in February 2010, was arrested by special agents with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston. At the time of his arrest, Lopez had no legal status in the U.S. He was criminally prosecuted for re-entry after deportation and sentenced to time served. Within days of his sentencing, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California designated Lopez as a material witness in an ongoing investigation into the actions of another former Kaibil, Jorge Sosa Orantes. Following Sosa’s conviction in October 2013 for naturalization fraud, Lopez was de-designated as a material witness and transferred back to the custody of ICE, which reinstated his prior removal order. Lopez requested an emergency stay of removal from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which was vigorously opposed by ICE through its attorneys in the Department of Justice’s Office of Immigration Litigation. Lopez remained in ICE detention litigating his removal case up until his repatriation. Last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Lopez’s request for a stay of removal, paving the way for his return to Guatemala.

Lopez is the second Dos Erres massacre participant living in the U.S. to be deported by ICE to Guatemala to face charges involving war crimes. The first, Pedro Pimentel Rios, was removed in 2011. On March 12, 2012, he was convicted in Guatemala for his role in the massacre and a three-judge panel sentenced him to 6,060 years in prison – 30 years for each of the 201 deaths in Dos Erres, plus 30 years for crimes against humanity.

The remaining two ex-Kaibiles whose cases have been brought forward by ICE so far, Gilberto Jordan and Jorge Sosa Orantes, are both currently serving 10-year federal prison terms for naturalization fraud. ICE will seek to deport both men once they have fulfilled their sentences.

The enforcement efforts targeting the former Kaibiles were overseen by ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC), in close collaboration with the agency’s Human Rights Law Section, and ICE attorneys in Los Angeles. Established in 2009 to further ICE efforts to identify, track and prosecute human rights abusers, the HRVWCC leverages the expertise of a select group of agents, lawyers, intelligence and research specialists, historians and analysts who direct the agency’s broader enforcement efforts against these offenders.

Since fiscal year 2004, ICE has arrested more than 375 individuals for human rights-related violations of the law under various criminal and/or immigration statutes. During that same period, ICE obtained deportation orders for and physically removed more than 815 known or suspected human rights violators from the United States.

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SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered a man on Interstate 5 near San Clemente on Sunday who was transporting 81 bundles of narcotics stashed in a 2005 Ford Focus.

At approximately 1 p.m., a Border Patrol agent conducted a vehicle stop near the Avenida Presidio exit. During the stop, a Border Patrol K-9 alerted agents to conduct a search of the vehicle, resulting in the discovery of 24 bundles of methamphetamine, 42 bundles of cocaine, and 15 bundles of fentanyl. The driver was also in possession of marijuana for personal use.

In total, agents seized 38.80 pounds of methamphetamine, 116.29 pounds of cocaine, and 52.69 pounds of fentanyl. The total estimated street value of the narcotics is $3,940,680.

The suspect and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The vehicle was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.

Chief Patrol Agent Richard A. Barlow said, “To the fullest extent, we will continue to deploy our personnel and resources at our checkpoints and along our major local highways to impact criminal organizations and protect our communities.”

This was the second significant narcotics seizure that took place on the Interstate 5 corridor last weekend. During a vehicle stop near San Clemente on Saturday, agents seized 47.43 pounds of methamphetamine that was found in the spare tire of a 2008 Dodge Caliber. Agents arrested the driver of the vehicle, a 21-year-old woman, for narcotics smuggling. At the time of the arrest, the woman was traveling with her two siblings, an 8-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy, who were turned over to San Diego County Child Welfare Services.

As of July 31, 2016, San Diego Sector has intercepted 1,069 pounds of cocaine and 2,166 pounds of methamphetamine during fiscal year 2016.

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