Drug cartel leader's operations included Triad, US says
Emmanuel Martimiano Leon-Soto, 42, of Naco, Mexico, is the last person arrested of 38 total individuals charged in November 2024 by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of North Carolina with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine hydrochloride. He is one of 10 of the defendants also charged with conspiracy to launder the proceeds of the drug trafficking scheme.
Among those previously arrested were Crandall Ortais 'Turk' Ingram, 32, Anthony Okurtis Rashad 'Ant' Lloyd, 29, and Nikonda Taye 'Slatt' or 'Big Boy' Ingram, 31, all of High Point, and Michael William Curtis, 49, of Archdale.
The indictment specifically mentions Guilford County as a place that the drug ring operated but includes no other details other than the drugs involved, but among the law enforcement agencies listed in a U.S. Justice Department press release as cooperating are the Forsyth County Drug Task Force, Surry County Sheriff's Office, Davie County Sheriff's Office, Moore County Sheriff's Office, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Stanly County Sheriff's Office and Candor Police Department.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Mexico says there's no agreement with DEA for new border enforcement collaboration
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hours after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced 'a major new initiative' for United States and Mexico collaboration targeting gatekeepers who control illicit trafficking routes across the countries' shared borders, Mexico's president said Tuesday there was no such agreement. President Claudia Sheinbaum was referring to 'Project Portero,' an effort announced Monday by the DEA, calling it a 'flagship operation' against smuggling routes that move drugs, guns and money across the border. 'The DEA put out a statement yesterday saying that there is an agreement with the Mexican government for an operation called Portero,' Sheinbaum said during her morning news briefing. 'There is no agreement with the DEA. The DEA puts out this statement, based on what we don't know. We have not reached any agreement, none of the security institutions (have) with the DEA.' The U.S. embassy in Mexico and the DEA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sheinbaum said the only thing happening was a workshop in Texas attended by four members of Mexico's police force. The DEA statement mentioned that workshop, saying it had brought Mexican investigators to one of its intelligence centers to train with U.S. prosecutors, law enforcement, defense officials and members of the intelligence community. The visibly annoyed president made her comments just days after generally positive exchanges between the two governments following another extension to ward off threatened U.S. tariffs and another shipment of 26 drug cartel figures to the U.S. from Mexico. Mexico had seemed to be repairing the security relationship with the United States after six years of tension under Sheinbaum's predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had reined in DEA agents operating in Mexico and accused the agency of wholesale fabrication when it arrested Mexico's former defense secretary. Sheinbaum's administration had taken a more aggressive stance toward pursuing Mexico's drug cartels and sent dozens of cartel figures sought by U.S. prosecutors to the United States. Sheinbaum did say that members of her administration had been working for months with U.S. counterparts on a broader security agreement that was practically finished. She said that agreement was based on four principles her administration has stressed for months: sovereignty, mutual trust, territorial respect and coordination without subordination. The DEA statement included a comment from agency administrator Terry Cole, who was recently tapped to lead the Trump administration takeover of the Washington D.C. police. 'Project Portero and this new training program show how we will fight — by planning and operating side by side with our Mexican partners, and by bringing the full strength of the U.S. government to bear,' Cole said in the Monday statement.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Truck driver in deadly Florida turnpike crash booked in California jail
The semi-truck driver who caused a crash on the Florida Turnpike that killed three South Floridians was jailed in California days after the crash, officials confirmed Tuesday. Harjinder Singh, 28, was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail Sunday afternoon, California jail records show, following last Tuesday's crash. Singh, who was denied bail, is set to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, California time, at the Stockton Courthouse in San Joaquin County, according to jail records. Typically, law enforcement does not make an arrest at the scene. 'If there is a fatality associated with a car accident, investigative authorities work to make sure that all evidence is gathered before any arrests are made,' according to the Spatz Law Firm in Miami. The Aug. 12 crash occurred when Singh attempted to make a U-turn in his 18-wheeler at an 'official use only' area of the Turnpike, 19 miles north of Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County. A 25-year-old man, whom authorities have not identified, was a passenger. Singh was blocking all the northbound lanes as a 2015 black Chrysler Town & Country minivan approached in the middle lane, FHP said. The van slammed into the 18-wheeler, killing its three occupants. READ MORE: Trucking company in fatal Turnpike crash: unsafe trucks, unlicensed drivers, records show On Tuesday, FHP identified the deceased as a 30-year-old Florida City man, who was driving, and two passengers: a 37-year-old Pompano Beach woman and a 54-year-old Miami man. The two passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver was airlifted to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce. He died around 5:15 p.m. later that day, according to FHP. Singh, who has a commercial driver's license in California, entered the United States illegally in 2018 through the Mexican border, according to FHP. It's unclear how he obtained a commercial driver's license, as Californa law requires the license holder to show proof they are in the U.S. legally, among other requirements, according to the California Commercial Driver's Handbook. Singh lives in Stockton, a city in San Joaquin County. READ MORE: How did truck driver in fatal Turnpike crash get license if not legal resident? 'The actions taken by the Defendant while operating a commercial tractor-trailer are both shocking and criminal,' FHP Executive Director Dave Kerner said in a statement Saturday. 'Three people lost their lives as a result of his recklessness, and countless friends and family members will experience the pain of their loss forever.' Singh will be deported at the conclusion of his state charges, Kerner added. He is facing three counts of vehicular homicide, the Florida Highway Patrol said. In addition to the criminal charges, he was also issued an immigration detainer by federal agents. News of the crash went national, with Singh being at the center of several socials media posts by the Trump administration on Sunday and Monday, prompting a response from California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. In one post, Newsom's press office said the federal government issued Singh — who entered the country during Trump's first term — an employment authorization document, which allows foreign nationals to work legally in the U.S In response, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said Singh's work authorization was rejected in September 2020 while Trump was in office and approved in June 2021 under the Biden administration.
an hour ago
Mexico says there's no agreement with DEA for new border enforcement collaboration
MEXICO CITY -- Hours after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced 'a major new initiative' for United States and Mexico collaboration targeting gatekeepers who control illicit trafficking routes across the countries' shared borders, Mexico's president said Tuesday there was no such agreement. President Claudia Sheinbaum was referring to 'Project Portero,' an effort announced Monday by the DEA, calling it a "flagship operation' against smuggling routes that move drugs, guns and money across the border. 'The DEA put out a statement yesterday saying that there is an agreement with the Mexican government for an operation called Portero,' Sheinbaum said during her morning news briefing. 'There is no agreement with the DEA. The DEA puts out this statement, based on what we don't know. We have not reached any agreement, none of the security institutions (have) with the DEA.' The U.S. embassy in Mexico and the DEA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sheinbaum said the only thing happening was a workshop in Texas attended by four members of Mexico's police force. The DEA statement mentioned that workshop, saying it had brought Mexican investigators to one of its intelligence centers to train with U.S. prosecutors, law enforcement, defense officials and members of the intelligence community. The visibly annoyed president made her comments just days after generally positive exchanges between the two governments following another extension to ward off threatened U.S. tariffs and another shipment of 26 drug cartel figures to the U.S. from Mexico. Mexico had seemed to be repairing the security relationship with the United States after six years of tension under Sheinbaum's predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had reined in DEA agents operating in Mexico and accused the agency of wholesale fabrication when it arrested Mexico's former defense secretary. Sheinbaum's administration had taken a more aggressive stance toward pursuing Mexico's drug cartels and sent dozens of cartel figures sought by U.S. prosecutors to the United States. Sheinbaum did say that members of her administration had been working for months with U.S. counterparts on a broader security agreement that was practically finished. She said that agreement was based on four principles her administration has stressed for months: sovereignty, mutual trust, territorial respect and coordination without subordination. tapped to lead the Trump administration takeover of the Washington D.C. police. 'Project Portero and this new training program show how we will fight — by planning and operating side by side with our Mexican partners, and by bringing the full strength of the U.S. government to bear,' Cole said in the Monday statement. ____
