Thread: TX:Creative cartels persist

Creative cartels persist
By JULIAN AGUILAR, LAREDO MORNING TIMES
03/19/2008

A five-day span during which Customs and Border Protection officials in Laredo seized more than $3 million of narcotics illustrates the different techniques drug cartels will use to ensure their operations are successful, CBP officials said.From Wednesday through Sunday, commercial buses, footwear and non-commercial vehicles were used by men and women ages 21 to 70 in smuggling attempts that ended with large drug seizures.

On Wednesday, at the Lincoln-Juarez bridge, 70-year-old Alba Sanchez-Torres, a Nuevo Laredo resident, was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after a CBP canine alerted agents to 107 pounds of marijuana concealed in her Ford F-150 pickup. The pot has a street value of approximately $107,000.

On Thursday, at the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge, 42-year-old Atanasio Hernandez Reynoso, a permanent resident from Eglin, Ill., was arrested by ICE agents after 2 pounds of cocaine were found in his boots. Reynoso was riding on a commercial bus that was referred for a secondary inspection. According to a CBP news release, agents noticed Reynoso had an "unusual gait" and referred him for a secondary inspection. The cocaine is worth approximately $64,000.

On Friday, Juan Herrera-Martinez, a 60-year-old permanent resident from Earlimart, Calif., was turned over to ICE agents after officials found $60,000 worth of methamphetamine in bundles concealed in Herrera-Martinez's boots. CBP officials said the man was also a passenger on a commercial bus. He was referred for a secondary inspection after a CBP canine alerted agents to his footwear.

Also on Friday, at the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge, Diana Salinas Soto, a 27-year-old Mexican citizen living in Laredo, was turned over to ICE agents after a scan of her 2007 Chevrolet Malibu revealed 13 bundles of cocaine hidden in the car's dashboard area. Thirty-three pounds of cocaine with an estimated value of more than $1 million were seized.

Sunday, at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge, a 21-year-old U.S. citizen from Austin was arrested after agents found 60 pounds of cocaine in the rear panels and undercarriage of her 2002 Ford Explorer. The woman's name was not released.

CBP Public Affairs Officer Mucia Dovalina said the age range of the alleged smugglers and the different methods used indicate anyone is for hire in the minds of the drug cartel leaders.

"Anybody can be recruited," she said. ‘That's always something that has baffled our agents. Who knows the mindset of these drug cartels?"

Dovalina added that some people think an increase in bridge traffic indicates a better opportunity to smuggle contraband.

"I think people generally have the impression that with the increase in cars, the agents won't be able to capture (the drugs) or be as alert," she said. "These people (smugglers) try to get as innovative as they possibly can."

Although smuggling drugs in vehicles is still the most common, Dovalina said there has been a recent increase in body carriers, like the two bus passengers arrested last week.

In all, the five-day span witnessed the seizure of 95 pounds of cocaine, 4 pounds of methamphetamine and 107 pounds of marijuana. The drugs have a combined street value of more than $3.2 million.

(Julian Aguilar may be reached at 728-2557 or by e-mail at jaguilar@lmtonline.com)

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Good work.