Thread: TX: Police, feds seize ammo and tactical gear in San Juan

Police, feds seize ammo and tactical gear in San Juan
January 17, 2011 11:30 PM
By JARED TAYLOR, The Monitor

SAN JUAN — Authorities seized hundreds of rounds of ammunition, tactical helmets and boots on Sunday.

San Juan police responded to the 2700 block of Fern Street, where a suspicious pewter-colored vehicle was seen parked at a house, a department news release states.

After briefly leaving the house, the vehicle went back and officers made contact with the driver.

Officers said the driver appeared to be nervous when questioned. Police obtained consent to search the vehicle and found 39 ballistic helmets and 24 pairs of tactical boots inside four duffel bags.

San Juan police investigators along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives obtained a warrant and searched the house, where they found more helmets, as well as ammunition and rifle magazines.

In total, authorities seized 50 ballistic helmets, 659 rounds of ammunition — .22, .223 and .50 caliber — and 26 high capacity rifle magazines.

No suspects in the case had been named as of late Monday afternoon. Possible charges to be filed in the case include intent to export items without the proper license, authorities said.

San Juan investigators and the ICE Border Enforcement Security Task force continue to investigate to possibly identify the origin and destination of the seized ammo and equipment.

The ICE Border Enforcement Security Task force is a collaboration of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies working to identify smuggling operations.


http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/j ... seize.html

San Juan man admits role smuggling combat gear for cartel
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January 19, 2011 9:04 AM
By JARED TAYLOR/The Monitor

McALLEN — A man told federal investigators he believes the Gulf Cartel hired him to smuggle tactical equipment and ammunition into Mexico.

San Juan police uncovered Carlos Javier Paez-Renteria’s alleged smuggling operation Sunday.

Paez, 21, told investigators he helped store and transport firearms, ballistic helmets, gun magazines, ammo and tactical gear that would eventually be smuggled into Mexico, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in McAllen.

A U.S. citizen, Paez told investigators a person in Mexico would pay him about $300 each time he helped deliver the gear, according to the complaint. The suspect reckoned the Gulf Cartel was funding the operation.

San Juan police officers stopped Paez inside his pewter-colored vehicle Sunday after observing suspicious activity at 2706 Fern St. Police said he gave consent to search the vehicle, where officers found four large black duffel bags containing ballistic helmets and tactical boots.

Police obtained a search warrant for the house, where they found what appeared to be a storage-and-staging location for more tactical gear.

Authorities found 50 Max Pro NIJ Level IIIA ballistic helmets and 15 pounds of belt-fed ammunition clips, the complaint states. Level IIIA helmets typically resist up to .44-caliber gunfire.

While interviewing Paez, investigators learned that in May, he had been caught by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers attempting to smuggle U.S. military body armor into Mexico for $150.

Police brought in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for further investigation.

Possessing tactical gear does not violate U.S. law. But exporting it from the United States without the proper license — Paez had none, authorities said — violates U.S. export laws.

The Gulf Cartel and the Zetas, the two dominant drug smuggling operations in northeast Mexico, have fought over smuggling routes into Texas for the past year. The once-allied organizations are believed to have split in February.

Mexican armed forces frequently clash with the cartels, and troops regularly seized firearms and weapons smuggled south from the United States.

Mexican troops regularly seize tactical gear and helmets from the smuggling groups, as well.

Nearly 35,000 people have been killed from drug violence across Mexico since late 2006.


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