Thread: TX. National Guardsman Arrested As Part of Cartel Roundup

Guardsman Arrested As Part of Cartel Roundup

Reported by: Erica Proffer
Last Update: 10:58 pm

A Valley National Guardsman is facing federal charges. He was snagged as part of a nationwide roundup of suspected Zeta members conducted by the DEA Special Operations Division. Dozens of arrests have been made in the Valley.

Police say the Guardsman was supplying military equipment to a Mexican drug cartel.

Bullet proof vests, grenades, automatic rifles, even a machine gun, they are all supposed to protect our Guardsmen fighting for us. Instead, police say the weapons were headed to the Gulf Cartel's war.

Organized crime is this family's affair. We can’t show you the faces of these suspects. They're awaiting federal charges. One is a U.S. national Guardsman. Investigators say he worked with 10 others. They supplied the Gulf Cartel bulletproof vests, assault rifles, grenades and other war equipment.

Two McAllen homes were part of the trafficking route. A Crimestoppers tip led investigators there.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS was there as police and federal agents raided a home. Neighbors are stunned. McAllen police say it's part of a larger operation. They found their strength in ICE special agent Jaime Zapata’s death. McAllen police, ICE, and other federal agencies all teamed up to take down possible cartel workers. It's called Operation Fallen Hero in honor of the fallen ICE agent.

Police tell us the fight isn't over. Authorities took more than $10 million worth of drugs off the streets. That doesn't include the weapons and military equipment.

Police and the feds are still out making more raids. We're told this won't be over for days.

The ICE Border Enforcement Security Task Force is helping these agencies take down suspected cartel members. In a statement released Thursday afternoon, ICE says:

"The ICE best team is working alongside with McAllen PD focusing on the weapons portion of the investigation while DEA works the narcotics aspect of it. This investigation illustrates how local, state and federal partners are coming together to dismantle these criminal networks."

http://www.krgv.com/news/local/story/Gu ... GDHSw.cspx

"Police say the Guardsman was supplying military equipment to a Mexican drug cartel."

"They supplied the Gulf Cartel bulletproof vests, assault rifles, grenades and other war equipment."

This is scary stuff.

National guardsmen among McAllen drug, guns bust
by Erika Flores
Posted: 02.24.2011 at 6:28 PM
Erika Flores

Guardsman Jose Padilla




A national guardsman is among several people arrested in a drug bust where authorities also found guns and bulletproof vests headed to Mexico.

McAllen police said suspect Jose Padilla is an active member of the national guards.

Investigators told Action 4 News that he allegedly supplied several bullet proof vests and other military articles to the suspects in the gun and drugs ring.

Police said they raided two different locations in McAllen where they arrested a total of 11 people.

Investigators said the ring leader was a man from Reynosa who moved the weapons to the Gulf Cartel.

During their search, police seized assault rifles, guns, ammunition and grenades. All headed to Mexico.

Police also recovered several tons of marijuana and over 1,000 pounds of cocaine.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez the investigation is still not complete and more arrests could be made.

"The last thing I will tell you with regard to charges, all of these folks will face a variety of different federal charges which will be determined at a later time,â€

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

This is scary stuff.

Very scary and now you have to wonder how many of these criminals have infiltrated our military.

If I had to guess, I would say padilla is an anchor baby with substantial ties to mexico and that criminal element. It's absolutely insane we give citizenship to these people and then hire them to perform law enforcement and military operations for our country. These people have no loyalty to this country and a devoted loyalty to mexico and their raza , combined with a propensity to engage in criminal activity.

It's insane!

charge him to the fullest extent of the law.

you can charge him with being a traitor, too, if you want

Life in Levinworth is not good enough.

I- I- I can't believe it! Someone of Hispanic lineage would never do this!!

He must be Irish or French!!!