Ammo load seized; smuggler arrested
Ammo load seized; smuggler arrested
Police confiscate load of ammo from stolen car
Nogales police officers seized roughly 6,000 rounds of ammunition from a stolen vehicle parked at the Shell gas station near the Mariposa Port of Entry last week.
Shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, agents with the U.S. Border Patrol reported that a dark-colored Nissan Versa that had been parked at the gas station all day appeared to have a fake license plate, according to a Nogales Police Department 911 dispatch report.
Upon further investigation, an NPD officer working the Operation Stonegarden detail found that the vehicle was reported stolen in New Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release.
The driver, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and police seized the car.
A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up 6,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition hidden in the trunk, CBP said.
Feds nab suspected human smuggler near Amado
Federal agents say they arrested a Mexican national near Amado who was previously deported from the country and who continued to participate in a human smuggling organization.
Border Patrol agents, working in conjunction with Joint Task Force-West, Arizona Corridor, received information about the possible whereabouts of Juan “El Ganzo” Murrieta Alcantar on Sept. 8, the Department of Homeland Security said in a news release.
Using that information, agents positioned themselves at various lookout points near Amado. Shortly after noon, agents observed a suspicious vehicle depart from an area known for smuggling. Agents moved in and found the vehicle abandoned in the brush with the doors open.
Border Patrol agents tracked and located the group, arresting Murrieta and four other undocumented individuals. During subsequent interviews, members of the group allegedly implicated Murrieta as the driver of the vehicle. He is currently in federal custody on human smuggling charges.
Joint Task Force-West, Arizona Corridor is part of Joint Task Force-West, one of three Department of Homeland Security task forces enforcing immigration laws and targeting individuals identified as facilitators and operators of criminal cross-border activities.
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