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."

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