logo
CBP officers seize cocaine worth $1.4M in two U.S.-Mexico border busts

CBP officers seize cocaine worth $1.4M in two U.S.-Mexico border busts

Yahoo28-01-2025

Jan. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that officers confiscated more than $1.4 million worth of cocaine in two seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The first seizure took place Friday at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge with CBP seizing 40 hidden packages with more than 91 pounds of what appeared to be cocaine inside a 2008 Toyota entering the United States. The driver was a 22-year-old female U.S. citizen who lives in McAllen, Texas.
The Brownsville and Matamoros, or Gateway International Bridge, is one of a trio of international bridges on the U.S.-Mexico border between the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The second seizure Friday also took place at the Gateway International Bridge, where a 27-year-old male Mexican citizen attempted to enter the United States in a 2014 Chevrolet. Upon a secondary inspection, CBP officers found several packages containing nearly 16 pounds of suspected cocaine.
Officers seized the narcotics and the vehicles. Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested both drivers.
"Our CBP officers work diligently to keep our borders secure and use many law enforcement tools to perform their duties which led to these significant drug seizures," said port director Tater Ortiz at the Brownsville Port of Entry.
The estimated street value of the cocaine from the first seizure was approximately $1,221,005. The street value from the second seizure was $211,350.
Last month, CBP officers seized 16 jugs containing more than 757 pounds of methamphetamine at the Laredo, Texas, border crossing. The meth was valued at more than $6.96 million.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Judge: Marco Rubio's determination is not enough to detain Mahmoud Khalil
Judge: Marco Rubio's determination is not enough to detain Mahmoud Khalil

UPI

time19 minutes ago

  • UPI

Judge: Marco Rubio's determination is not enough to detain Mahmoud Khalil

Secretary of State Marco Rubio (pictured in May) had determined that Syrian national Mahmoud Khalil's presence in the United States runs counter to U.S. foreign policy. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo June 11 (UPI) -- Syrian national Mahmoud Khalil can't be detained and deported due to foreign policy concerns by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a federal district court judge ruled on Wednesday. Rubio had determined that Khalil's presence in the United States -- while organizing campus protests favoring Hamas while enrolled at Columbia University -- runs counter to U.S. foreign policy. U.S. District Court of New Jersey Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled Rubio's determination is insufficient to warrant Khalil's detention and deportation, NBC News and The Hill reported. Rubio also suggested Khalil concealed his alleged connections with Hamas when he applied for a U.S. visa. "It might be argued that [Khalil] would be detained anyway," Farbiarz wrote. "The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to remove [Khalil] based not only on the Secretary of State's determination but also on ... the petitioner's alleged failure to accurately complete his lawful-permanent-resident application." While the DHS might have a stronger and enforceable claim to detain and deport Khalil, Farbiarz said Rubio's determination is not enough to warrant his continued detention and eventual deportation. Federal authorities arrested Khalil in March with the intention of deporting him, but Farbiarz said Khalil's "career and reputation" are damaged by his arrest. Farbiarz said Khalil has suffered "irreparable harm" but agreed the DHS might have a strong enough case to deport him because he did not accurately complete a lawful-permanent-resident application. Such instances don't result in individuals being detained, though, Farbiarz said. "That strongly suggests that it is the Secretary of State's determination that drives [Khalil's] ongoing going detention -- not the other charges against him," the judge wrote. He issued a preliminary injunction and ordered the Trump administration to release Khalil, but not until Friday. The delay gives the Trump administration time to appeal the ruling. A federal immigration judge in April ruled the Trump administration can deport Khalil. President Joe Biden appointed Farbiarz to the federal bench in 2023.

Department Of Homeland Security Predator B Drones Are Orbiting Over Los Angeles
Department Of Homeland Security Predator B Drones Are Orbiting Over Los Angeles

Yahoo

time23 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Department Of Homeland Security Predator B Drones Are Orbiting Over Los Angeles

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been flying its Predator B drones, also commonly referred to by their military variant designation of MQ-9 Reapers, over Los Angeles as part of the U.S. government's response to the unrest there, the agency confirmed to us on Wednesday. The flights are in response to protests that escalated to violence on multiple occasions, following a massive operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last Friday. Persistent aerial surveillance like this has long been controversial, with civil rights advocates saying it violates the right to privacy and undermines the Constitution. At the same time, the fact that a drone is doing it largely evokes a uniquely upsetting response. While using the Predator Bs over urban locales is rare, it's not unprecedented, and manned platforms do this kind of work every day across the country. CBP's Air and Marine Operations (AMO) 'MQ-9 Predators are supporting our federal law enforcement partners in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with aerial support of their operations,' spokesman John Mennell told us Wednesday afternoon in response to our query earlier this week. 'Additionally, they are providing officer safety surveillance when requested by officers. AMO is not engaged in the surveillance of First Amendment activities.' CBP had been mum about the issue for days, even though open-source reporting on social media had already presented compelling evidence of the drones' orbits. On June 9, user @Aeroscout on X posted air traffic control (ATC) audio stating that two 'Q-9s' – call signs TROY 703 and TROY 701, had passed each other in airspace over Yuma, Arizona, as one was replacing the other over Los Angeles. @Aeroscout had previously posted ATC audio of TROY 701 checking in on Los Angeles Center Sector 09. A short time later, Alaska Flight 1020 was given a traffic advisory for 'drone traffic.' I've confirmed that the two targets operating in hexagonal surveillance orbits over DTLA these past 36 hours are both MQ-9s, callsigns TROY701 and 703As 703 replaced 701, they passed each other in the airspace near Yuma, AZ where I found this needle in the haystack! Listen — Aeroscout (@aeroscouting) June 9, 2025 "TROY701"Department of Homeland Security MQ-9 over Los Angeles this evening. It's been operational for over 9 hours now. Heard working 128.600 Los Angeles Center, Sector 09 at 16:45z, 8 June 2025 — Aeroscout (@aeroscouting) June 9, 2025 While there has not yet been any explicit identification of the 'Q-9s' as Customs and Border Protection (CPB) Predator Bs, TROY is a known Department of Homeland Security (DHS) callsign. TROY 314, a CBP Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) based on the Beechcraft King Air 350ER twin-engine turboprop, and a CBP Black Hawk helicopter using the callsign TROY 212, were also tracked over Los Angeles this weekend. Homeland Security ISR bird running ovals over #Paramount earlier; now over Los Angeles proper. TROY314 is Beechcraft Scorpion N251J # — Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) June 7, 2025 One high flier conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over the riots/protests in downtown LA at 2326z in support of the Dept. of Homeland Security. TROY212 is a DHS/CBP H-60 Blackhawk that some have reported flying low in the area. The remaining appear to be… — TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) June 8, 2025 Furthermore, plane trackers using online software first began noticing aircraft flying hexagonal patterns over Los Angeles on Sunday. Though not always the case, this is indicative of CBP Predator B surveillance patterns observed in the past. This includes the use of one of the CBP Q-9s over Minneapolis back in 2020. Hexagons aren't always MQ-9s, but in this case, yes, there are two MQ-9 Reapers over LA today. Just ridiculous. — John Wiseman (@lemonodor) June 9, 2025 NOW: @CBP Predator Drone #CPB104 circling over Minneapolis at 20K feet. Took off from Grand Forks Air Force Base. #Minneapolisprotests #surveillance #planespotting — Jason Paladino (@jason_paladino) May 29, 2020 CBP has MQ-9s at three locations: the National Air Security Operations Centers in Sierra Vista, Arizona, located on Fort Huachuca, San Angelo in Texas, and Grand Forks in North Dakota. What specific version or versions of the Predator B CBP have been flying over Los Angeles is unclear. The TROY 701 callsign was tied to a particular tail number, CBP-113, back in April, but it is not clear if that same drone has been using the callsign in the past few days. CBP-113 is what CBP has referred to in the past as a Guardian Maritime Mission version of the Q-9, which features a Raytheon SeaVue multi-mode radar under the central fuselage, which features surface search and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery modes. SAR images are highly detailed maps of the surface below, which can be produced day or night, despite any cloud cover, smoke, or dust. Guardian Maritime Mission drones also have electro-optical and infrared full-motion video cameras in a turret under the nose, as well as data links capable of sending imagery and radar tracks back to control stations on the ground in near real-time. CBP's Predator B fleet, which consists of around eight drones, includes at least two other versions. There are baseline types that feature the same sensor turret as the Guardian Maritime Mission versions, but with a smaller Lynx SAR-capable radar rather than the more powerful SeaVue. It is also worth noting here that these drones, as well as CBP Predator B in general, are sometimes confusingly referred to as Predator Bs. This is a holdover from manufacturer General Atomics' original nomenclature for the drone, which evolved from the iconic MQ-1 Predator A. One of these Predator Bs was identified as the type that flew over Minneapolis in 2020. CBP also has a variant that blend features of the other two types. All CBP Predeator Bs are unarmed, but can carry additional podded sensors under their wings. The drones are part of a much larger response to the ongoing unrest, as protesters clashed with law enforcement who appeared to use tear gas and fired non-lethal rounds toward some groups of demonstrators. Some rioters pelted the LA police with rocks. BREAKING | Sixth Day of ICE ProtestsDemonstrators have once again taken to the streets after days of unrest in the city. Stay updated and #ProtectTheWorld with Citizen. — Citizen Los Angeles (@CitizenAppLA) June 11, 2025 In LA, riot police shot an Australian journalist with a rubber bullet, apparently without provocation, as she was reporting from the scene. — Pekka Kallioniemi (@P_Kallioniemi) June 9, 2025 New video of LA rock thrower at Paramount, CA riot from @ABC7 helicopter & crew. Creating barricade & walking around fire — NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) June 10, 2025 Rioter in LA throws a rock at a police officer's head. — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 9, 2025 Responding to President Donald Trump's directives, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) on Monday said it was activating a Marine infantry battalion that was placed in an alert status over the weekend. 'Approximately 700 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division will seamlessly integrate with the Title 10 forces under Task Force 51 who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area,' the command said in a statement. The activation of the Marines 'is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency,' the statement continued. Task Force 51 'is U.S. Army North's Contingency Command Post, which provides a rapidly deployable capability to partner with civil authorities and DoD entities in response to Homeland Defense and Homeland Security Operations. It is commanded by Maj. Gen. Scott M. Sherman. ' Task Force 51 is comprised of approximately 2,100 National Guard soldiers in a Title 10 status and 700 active-duty Marines. 'Task Force 51 forces have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force,' NORTHCOM explained. PRESS RELEASE: Approximately 700 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division will seamlessly integrate with the Title 10 forces under Task Force 51 in the Los Angeles Area. @DODResponse @1stMEF @DeptofDefense @USArmyNorth Read more: — U.S. Northern Command (@USNorthernCmd) June 9, 2025 The activation of Marines follows a directive Trump issued Saturday, invoking a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard, The Associated Press reported. CNN reported that as of Wednesday, the 700 Marines mobilized by the Pentagon had not yet been sent to Los Angeles and are still training, according to Sherman. 'Meanwhile, approximately 2,000 National Guard troops are currently on active duty and helping ICE agents during demonstrations, Sherman said,' according to the network. 'An additional 2,000 Guard members will be ready for duty Thursday afternoon, Sherman added.' Live updates: Marines on standby outside LA as protests pop up across the US. National Guard troops have temporarily detained civilians in LA protests, commander saysLA protests against Trump ICE raids, curfew starts, Chicago demonstrations | CNNhttps:// — Tony MacIntyre (@Tony_MacIntyre) June 11, 2025 California Gov. Gavin Newsom has decried Trump's response, as you can see in the following video posted by CBS News. There is precedent for the use of these unarmed surveillance assets to watch over large demonstrations. As we reported at the time, and noted earlier in this piece, a Predator B orbited around Minneapolis, Minnesota in May 2020 as the city saw increasingly violent protests in response to the killing of resident George Floyd while he was being arrested by members of the Minneapolis Police Department. The use of persistent aerial surveillance for law enforcement purposes has long been a controversial topic. Civil liberties advocates say these and other mass surveillance activities violate rights to personal privacy and undermine constitutional protections against unlawful searches. On Wednesday, CBP attempted to address those concerns. 'AMO does not possess or use facial recognition technology on any of its aircraft,' the agency said. 'AMO does not own or have access to any facial recognition algorithms or software.' In addition, 'on-board cameras cannot provide enough resolution or detail to identify a person (that is to discern physical characteristics such as height, weight, eye color, hairstyle, or a facial image), or to discern a vehicle license plate number,' CBP further explained. 'These cameras can be used to discern rough details such as clothing color, the presence of a backpack, or in some cases whether an individual is carrying an unconcealed weapon that may pose a threat.' Still, the use of these drones over areas of civil unrest is almost certain to further fuel that debate. With protests against the Trump administration's immigration actions spreading to other cities, we will likely see the use of these and other aerial surveillance assets employed elsewhere, as well. Contact the author: howard@

Homeland Security agents crash into and arrest driver in Los Angeles
Homeland Security agents crash into and arrest driver in Los Angeles

CBS News

time27 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Homeland Security agents crash into and arrest driver in Los Angeles

Security cameras on Wednesday captured Department of Homeland Security agents driving their unmarked cars into a white Mercedes sedan during an arrest operation in a Los Angeles neighborhood. Homeland Security said the agents were targeting a man who allegedly punched a border patrol officer. Surveillance footage showed federal agents using a truck and an SUV to pin the suspect's car along Whittier Boulevard in Boyle Heights. "This was no hit and run. This was a targeted arrest of a violent rioter who punched a CBP officer," Homeland Security posted on X. "When Homeland Security Investigations tried to arrest Christian Damian Cerno-Camacho for the assault, he attempted to flee. He was ultimately arrested and taken into custody." Witnesses said the agents drew their guns and used tear gas before the driver exited the vehicle. One bystander, Verita Topete, said she spoke to a passenger in the car. "They had been following them since Long Beach," Topete said. "He started to drive very suspiciously over here because he felt like he was being followed. That's when they got to this intersection. They supposedly had a warrant for his arrest because he was a protester at the Paramount protest." Topete said the passenger was flustered after the collision. Another witness, Steve Silva, said she had two babies with her. "Literally, one in a crib and the other one maybe 1.5 years old," Silva said. Topete said she stayed with the woman, called paramedics to evaluate the babies and filed a police report against the agents. "They were proud of what they did, which is not OK," Topete said. "They're out here terrorizing this poor woman and her children. I helped her call the paramedics to get her babies checked out and 911 to make a police report because who's going to pay for this?"

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store