Thread: Arrest, Seizures, Drug Bust, etc. for 7/16/12

U.S. Border Patrol Weekly Blotter, Blaine Sector July 5 – July 11 (Monday, July 16, 2012) Blaine, Wash. – The information listed below is from arrests and seizures related to the U.S. Border Patrol in the Blaine Sector area of operations. For security reasons, this may not be a complete list of enforcement actions. 07/05/2012- U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a request for assistance from the Sumas Police Department regarding a subject who had fled after committing an alleged assault. The individual was located by agents in the woods nearby an R.V. park south of Sumas. The agents detained the subject until the Sumas Police Department arrived. 07/06/2012- While patrolling the border, agents encountered a subject riding a bicycle south from the international border east of Sumas. The bicyclist was determined to be a citizen of Canada and admitted to being in the United States illegally. The individual was placed under arrest and processed for removal. 07/08/2012- While patrolling the border, agents encountered two subjects walking in close proximity to the United States-Canada border west of Sumas. The first subject was determined to be a citizen of the United States. The second subject was determined to be a citizen of Mexico who admitted to being in the United States illegally. The individual was placed under arrest and processed for removal. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. U.S. Border Patrol Weekly Blotter, Blaine Sector July 5

Department of Homeland Security

Local News for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

U.S. Border Patrol Agents Intercept Maritime Smuggling Attempt Near Imperial Beach
07/16/2012 12:08 PM EDT
San Diego - U.S. Border Patrol agents thwarted a human maritime smuggling attempt and arrested a male U.S. citizen and his female passenger early Thursday morning. At about 12 a.m., Border Patrol agents were alerted by members of the California National Guard's Counterdrug program working in support of Customs and Border Protection regarding a Zodiac boat with no running lights approximately two miles west of the Imperial Beach pier. (more)

CBP Officers at Eagle Pass Nab Man Wanted for Indecency With a Child
07/16/2012 12:08 PM EDT
Eagle Pass, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry Monday arrested a Houston man wanted in Grand Prairie for indecency with a child.Monday evening CBP officers at Eagle Pass International Bridge inspected a 2008 Nissan Altima, upon its arrival from Mexico. (more)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Seize Over $76,500 in Methamphetamine at Hidalgo Port of Entry
07/16/2012 12:08 PM EDT
Hidalgo, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Hidalgo Port of Entry on Thursday seized Methamphetamine valued at approximately $76,500 during a routine vehicle inspection of a passenger vehicle. . (more)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Seize Over $12.5 Million in Cocaine at the Pharr Port of Entry Cargo Facility
07/16/2012 12:08 PM EDT
Pharr, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized alleged cocaine valued at more than $12 million at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge's import lot. On Thursday, July 12, 2012 CBP officers at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge encountered a Kenworth tractor and utility flatbed trailer at the cargo facility. (more)

www.ice.gov

Thai Authorities Kill 7 Drug Suspects Near Border

BANGKOK July 16, 2012 (AP)

Thai security forces killed seven suspected drug smugglers from Myanmar early Monday in a gunbattle that was Thailand's deadliest drug-related incident in three years, police said. Myanmar, meanwhile, reported a major seizure of methamphetamine near its border with China.

U.N. and U.S. drug experts say Myanmar, especially Shan state in the country's east, is a major producer of amphetamine-type stimulants. Thailand and China are large markets for the drug.

Thai police Maj. Gen. Surachet Thopunyanon said investigators who had been tipped off and were waiting at a border crossing for several days caught members of a drug gang as they entered Thailand's Chiang Rai province. He said the suspects refused to stop and a shootout ensued in which seven were killed.

Surachet said police seized 520,000 methamphetamine pills and 70 kilograms (154 pounds) of crystalline methamphetamine and are still hunting for other suspects who escaped the scene, about 735 kilometers (455 miles) north of Bangkok.

Myanmar's state-controlled Kyemon newspaper, meanwhile, said police there seized 73 kilograms (161 pounds) of crystal meth and hundreds of kilograms (pounds) of drug-making chemicals worth 3.14 billion kyat ($3.6 million) in a raid July 9 on a house in the town of Laukkai near the Chinese border.

It said nine people were arrested, including the homeowner, a member of the ethnic Kokang minority. Laukkai, 500 miles (800 kilometers) northeast of Yangon, is under the authority of the Kokang.

Myanmar traditionally has been one of the world's biggest producers of opium and its derivative, heroin, but in recent years drug gangs affiliated with ethnic minority groups have also been making methamphetamine in border areas under little control by the state.

Thai Authorities Kill 7 Drug Suspects Near Border - ABC News

Escapee from Louisiana arrested after fleeing Houlton port of entry

Julia Bayly Bangor Daily News, Maine
2:16 p.m. CDT, July 15, 2012

HOULTON, Maine —
An escapee from a Louisiana detention center was taken into custody Saturday night after fleeing the Houlton Port of Entry earlier that day.

Benjamin Gottke, 43, had been at large since last Thursday after escaping from the Tensas Parish Detention Center in Waterproof, La., and stealing a backup police cruiser.

According to a report by Lindsey Shelton in the Natchez Democrat's Saturday online edition, Gottke was serving time for simple burglary and had about nine months left on his sentence.

At the time of his escape, he was working as a trustee in the sheriff's office kitchen and was soon going to be eligible for work release.

According to Michelle Benson-Fuller, spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an individual presented himself at the Houlton port Saturday afternoon just after 2:30 p.m. driving a vehicle with Louisiana license plates.

It is unknown, she said, whether the driver was heading in or out of this country.

"It was unclear what direction he was going," Benson-Fuller said late Saturday night. "When he came into contact he was trying to get into the lane coming into the United States but he could have been going north and then turned around in between the two ports."

Sunday morning Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin said it appeared Gottke was planning on entering Canada in the stolen, unmarked police cruiser.

"He may have gotten to the port quicker than he expected," Asselin said. "When he went to turn around in 'no-man's-land' between the two ports [CBP] was going to do a secondary check and he took off."

When CBP officials asked for Gottke's identification at the Houlton port, Benson-Fuller said, he indicated he did not have any or a registration for the vehicle.

"When he was asked to turn off the car he accelerated and ran the port heading south on I-95," Benson-Fuller said. "We contacted the state police and our law enforcement partners to undertake a search as we normally do to locate a suspect."

Members of the U.S. Border Patrol, working with air support and a K-9 unit, located the vehicle abandoned at Irving Big Stop in Houlton about an hour later. Asselin said it appeared Gottke had fled on foot.

"He crossed both lanes of the interstate on foot," he said. "His goal was to get into Canada on foot."

Asselin said his department got word out to the public through local media asking residents to keep a lookout for the escaped prisoner.

"We started to get some calls that he was seen on Elm Street," Asselin said. "Then someone driving heard the broadcast and spotted someone who matched the description and came in to the police station to report it."

Gottke was subsequently located on the corner of Park and High Streets.

When he was approached by law enforcement officers, Asselin said, Gottke resisted arrest and police used a Taser on him twice before placing him into custody.

Gottke is facing charges in Maine as a fugitive from justice and resisting arrest as well as charges in Louisiana of simple escape and theft of a vehicle.

He is currently being held in the Aroostook County Jail and Asselin said he anticipates Gottke will be arraigned later this week.

"It sounded like he'd been planning this escape for awhile," Asselin said. "His jail garb was found in the cruiser and he stole that car July 12 and made it all the way to Houlton."

Benson-Fuller said the arrest of Gottke was the result of all northern Maine law enforcement personnel doing their jobs, including those with Customs and Border Protection.

"We have highly trained officers and agents and whenever there is an issue of safety they want to make sure we are protected," she said.
Primary officers in the arrest were Houlton Police officer Charles Wampler III, Sgt. Fred Parker, Sgt. Eric Crouse and officer Theron Bickford.

Escapee from Louisiana arrested after fleeing Houlton port of entry - chicagotribune.com

Local News for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Temporary Disruption to Milltown Port Due to Railroad Emergency Repairs
07/16/2012 05:25 PM EDT
Milltown, Maine - The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Milltown port of entry in Calais, Maine and the St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Milltown crossing will be temporarily unavailable to north and south bound traffic for emergency repairs to the Milltown railroad crossing. (more)

CBP Agriculture Specialists Detect Asian Gypsy Moth at the Port of Tacoma

07/16/2012 05:25 PM EDT
Tacoma, Wash.-U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists stationed at the Tacoma seaport intercepted four Asian Gypsy Moth (AGM) eggs masses within a recent four day period. Each of these egg masses contains hundreds of eggs of this devastating plant pest. (more)

CBP Officers at Presidio Port Make Three Drug Busts Thursday
07/16/2012 05:25 PM EDT
Presidio, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at the Presidio port of entry made three drug seizures Thursday. The seizures netted 208 pounds of marijuana and three arrests. "CBP officers at the Presidio port are conducting thorough and comprehensive inspections and this is the result of their vigilance," said Ruben Jauregui, acting CBP Presidio Port Director. (more)

Criminal Alien Apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol Agents in Southern Arizona Returns to Prison
07/16/2012 05:25 PM EDT
Tucson, Ariz. - A 33-year-old male from Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, apprehended by Nogales Station Border Patrol agents in January 2012, was sentenced June 26 to 37 months of confinement. The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted Heriberto Guerrero-Carrillo after his apprehension for attempting to illegally re-enter the United States. (more)

U.S. Border Patrol Agents Confiscate More Than $1 Million in Heroin and Methamphetamine in Two Incidents
07/16/2012 05:25 PM EDT
San Diego - U.S. Border Patrol agents prevented two drug smuggling attempts this week near the San Clemente checkpoint on Interstate 5, resulting in the seizure of methamphetamine and heroin worth an estimated $1,044,640. The first smuggling attempt occurred on Tuesday at approximately 8:30 p. (more)

www.ice.gov

Officials in Texas seize 857 pounds of marijuana hidden in bus

Published July 16, 2012
FoxNews.com

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  U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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  U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  
  U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Texas intercepted a passenger bus carrying 857 pounds of marijuana into the country from Mexico, officials said Monday.
  
  The agents seized the smuggled drugs at the El Paso port of entry on Friday. The drugs had been hidden in the front wheel area of the bus.
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  "The thorough and comprehensive inspections performed by CBP officers on all modes of transport generated this significant drug seizure," Hector Mancha, CBP El Paso Port Director, said in a news release.
  
  Mancha credits the multilayered enforcement team in the seizure.
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  Shortly after 6 a.m. on Friday, a CBP officer stopped a 1993 Dina bus for an intensive inspection. Officers x-rayed the vehicle when a drug sniffing dog alerted them to the bus.
  
  During the exam, officers noticed "non-factory compartments" in the front area of the bus, where they discovered 754 marijuana-filled bundles.
  
  An officer interviewed the driver, who was the only person on the bus, but no arrests were immediately made pending results of an ongoing investigation.
  
  Officials in Texas seize 857 pounds of marijuana hidden in bus | Fox News

Border Patrol Nabs Meth and Heroin at I-5 Checkpoint

ByAdam Townsend

In two different stops at the Interstate-5 checkpoint, the U.S. Border Patrol seized methamphetamine and heroin worth more than $1 million.

The first smuggling attempt was Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., when Border Patrol agents encountered a 19-year-old United States citizen driving a 1997 black Honda Civic at the I-5 checkpoint, according to a release from the Border Patrol.

Agents became suspicious of the driver and his 20-year-old passenger’s nervous demeanors and sent the car for inspection by drug-sniffing dogs.

Agents searched the vehicle and discovered 13 bundles of methamphetamine in a black duffle bag on the back seat. Upon discovery of the drugs, the driver of the vehicle ran from the checkpoint into traffic on the northbound I-5 and was quickly apprehended, according to the release.

The driver and his passenger, a United States citizen, were taken into custody and face Federal charges for drug smuggling. The methamphetamine weighed 27.67 pounds and had an estimated street value of $553,400, the release states.

Thursday, Border Patrol agents saw a gray 2003 Land Rover Freelander parked south of the checkpoint in San Clemente, according to the Border Patrol Release.

Agents approached the driver, a 33-year-old male U.S. citizen. After questioning the driver, agents brought in a drug dog, which discovered 13 bundles of heroin and 10 bundles of methamphetamine hidden in a makeshift compartment under the floorboard, the release states.

The heroin weighed 19.62 pounds and had an estimated street value of $235,440. The methamphetamine weighed 12.79 pounds and had an estimated street value of $255,800.

The suspected smuggler and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.

Border Patrol Nabs Meth and Heroin at I-5 Checkpoint - Encinitas, CA Patch