Thread: ICE arrests 104 in Utah during trafficking roundup

ICE arrests 104 in Utah during trafficking roundup

Published: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 11:54 p.m. MST
By Pat Reavy, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — A three-month federal enforcement effort concentrating on trans-national gangs affiliated with drug trafficking resulted in more than 600 arrests nationwide, including more than 100 in Utah, according to officials.

"It was a very aggressive enforcement operation," said ICE's Homeland Security Investigation Resident Agent-in-Charge Mark Cutchen.

Those arrested in "Project Southern Tempest" were either a member of a trans-national gang or an associate, he said. Everyone from street-level dealers to some "heavy hitters" were arrested, Cutchen said. Agents seized various amounts of weapons, money and drugs, including marijuana and methamphetamine.

See all 3 photos | Click to enlarge
ICE Photo

In a handout photo, the face of a suspect has been electronically blurred to protect his identity, during an arrest Feb. 3, 2011. The arrest was part of a nation-wide round up transnational gang members and associates suspected in drug trafficking.

"It was a very significant enforcement effort. I think we did send a very strong message, 'They're certainly not welcome here in Utah,'" Cutchen said.

Of the 104 arrested in Utah, 42 were in Salt Lake County, including 14 in Salt Lake City, 27 were in Utah County, 15 were in Weber and Davis counties and 14 of those arrested were in St. George.

Asked how much of Utah's illegal drug situation was due to drugs shipped from other countries or foreign nationals coming to Utah to set up marijuana growing operations, Cutchen said he didn't have exact figures but believed it was a "relatively significant amount."

Cutchen said while "Project Southern Tempest" resulted in significant arrests, it won't end the drug problem.

"This is a battle. It's going to be a long road that will require a sustained effort. You arrest 104 and 104 are lurking about to take their place," he said.

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7053 ... undup.html

And Utah's Latino community has grown 78% in 10 years.

Originally Posted by TakingBackSoCal

And Utah's Latino community has grown 78% in 10 years.

What the heck is a Latino? Americans of Latin decent? Or illegal aliens of
Latin decent? Is Latin a culture, an ethnicity, or a religion? A color, or a disability? Are Latinos\Latina's a terrorist group? Or are they all Jesus?

I want a nation of the lawfull, the respectfull! What the hell does Latino
have to do with that? The BIG QUESTION!

Originally Posted by airdale

Originally Posted by TakingBackSoCal

And Utah's Latino community has grown 78% in 10 years.

What the heck is a Latino? Americans of Latin decent? Or illegal aliens of
Latin decent? Is Latin a culture, an ethnicity, or a religion? A color, or a disability? Are Latinos\Latina's a terrorist group? Or are they all Jesus?

I want a nation of the lawfull, the respectfull! What the hell does Latino
have to do with that? The BIG QUESTION!

Read that on a post here. Maybe someone can help?

My point is the more they populate the more crime and drugs.

And Utah's Latino community has grown 78% in 10 years.

What the heck is a Latino? Americans of Latin decent? Or illegal aliens of
Latin decent? Is Latin a culture, an ethnicity

your answer is all of the above.
Remember, illegals were counted in the 2010 census

Hispanic and Latino Americans
From Wikipedia

Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.[2][3][4][1] Reflecting especially the Latin American population, which has origins in all the continents and many ancestries,[5] Hispanic/Latino Americans are very racially diverse, and as a result form an ethnic category, rather than a race.[4][6][7][8] The choice of name depends on geography: Hispanic and Latino Americans who reside in the eastern United States tend to prefer the term Hispanic, whereas those in the west usually prefer Latino.[3]

Hispanics and Latinos constitute 15.8% of the total United States population, or 48.4 million people,[1][9] forming the second largest ethnic group, after non-Hispanic White Americans (a group composed of dozens of sub-groups, as is Hispanic and Latino Americans).[10] Hispanic and Latino Americans are the largest of all the minority groups, but Black Americans are the largest minority among the races, after White Americans in general (non-Hispanic and Hispanic).[11] Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Colombian Americans, Dominican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Spanish Americans, and Salvadoran Americans are some of the Hispanic and Latino American national origin groups.[12]

There have been people of Hispanic or Latino heritage in the territory of the present-day United States continuously[13][14][15][16] since the 1565 founding of St. Augustine, Florida by the Spanish, the longest among European American ethnic groups and second-longest of all U.S. ethnic groups, after Native Americans. Hispanics have also lived continuously in the Southwest since near the end of the 16th century, with settlements in New Mexico that began in 1598, and which were transferred to the area of El Paso, Texas in 1680.[17] Spanish settlement of New Mexico resumed in 1692, and new ones were established in Arizona and California in the 18th century.[18][19] The Hispanic presence can even be said to date from half a century earlier than St. Augustine, if San Juan, Puerto Rico is considered to be the oldest Spanish settlement, and the oldest city, in the U.S.[20]

For the U.S. government and others, Hispanic or Latino identity is voluntary, as in the United States Census, and in some market research.[21]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic_a ... _Americans