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Courts and Police
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Checkpoints yield more than 1,500 alien apprehensions in California and Arizona

May 18, 2005



A weeklong U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint operation in California and Arizona led to the apprehension of more than 1,500 illegal aliens and the seizure of more than $210,000 worth of drugs.

According to a release from the Department of Homeland Security, agents conducted checkpoint operations in six locations in Yuma County and the San Diego and Imperial counties in California as part of Operation Rampart.

"It was a highly successful collaborative operation between the Yuma and El Centro sectors that was targeting alien and narcotics smugglers," said Yuma sector Border Patrol spokesman Joe Brigman.

Brigman said the Yuma sector has permanent checkpoints on all of the major roadways leading away from Yuma.

Agents apprehended 1,511 illegal aliens and seized 74 vehicles during the operation May 6-12. The operation used resources from the Yuma, Tucson, El Centro and San Diego sectors.

A total of 253.75 pounds of marijuana, 47.45 grams of cocaine and 2.2 ounces of heroin was seized during the operation. The street value of these drugs is $210,750.47, according to the release.

Agents also seized five illegal handguns and apprehended six people who were handed over to other law enforcement agencies on warrants ranging from traffic violations to drugs.

Operation Rampart was in support of the Arizona Border Control Initiative. "It was so we would be able to cut off traffic routes to the interior of the United States," said Danielle Suarez, spokeswoman for the Border Patrol's El Centro sector.

ABCI is a multi-agency effort that supports the Department of Homeland Security’s anti-terrorism mission through the detection, arrest and deterrence of all cross-border illicit activity, according to the DHS Web site. The initiative began in 2004,
and Phase II was announced in March.

According to DHS, the Phase II goals are to reduce the flow of illegal aliens, disrupt and dismantle human smuggling operations, further reduce exposure deaths in the West Desert Corridor and reduce crime in Arizona.

"In support of the ABCI and with the cooperation of adjacent Border Patrol Sectors along these routes of travel, we were able to shut down the trafficking efforts of smuggling organizations through eastern California," El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Carl McClafferty said in the release.