Thread: Homeland Security Agents Raid Home to Seize Land Rover For Violation of EPA Regulatio

Homeland Security Agents Raid Home to Seize Land Rover For Violation of EPA Regulations

Protecting America from the deadly threat posed by vehicles which flout emission standards

by Paul Joseph Watson | July 29, 2014

In another example of how the Department of Homeland Security has expanded far outside the purview of its original function, six vehicles full of DHS agents were required to seize a Land Rover from a couple in Statesville, N.C. due to the fact that the vehicle allegedly violates EPA emission standards.

As part of its mission to “protect the Homeland,” the DHS has been busy seizing imported vehicles that don’t comply with safety and CO2 regulations.Jennifer and Bill Brinkley were satisfied that their $60,000 dollar purchase of a Land Rover Defender on eBay complied with regulations because it fell into the exemption category of a vehicle 25 years or older.

However, when DHS agents turned up at the property, they compared the car’s Vehicle Identification Number to a list and immediately seized the Land Rover. The couple were not given “a chance to debate the issue.”WBTV’s Steve Ohnesorge said DHS agents conducted “almost like a raid to get the car.”

“it’s just unnerving the way they did it,” said Bill Brinkley.The feds have given the Brinkley’s 35 days to appeal the seizure but refuse to tell them where the vehicle is located. The DHS has also failed to respond to media requests about the incident.

The Department of Homeland Security, created in the aftermath of 9/11, was tasked with the role of protecting America from terrorists, man-made accidents and natural disasters. However, the DHS has been turned into a national police force with a remit that extends from seizing websites for copyright infringement to confiscating fake NFL merchandise.

As the Rutherford Institute’s John Whitehead explained in a widely circulated article last month, the DHS is becoming America’s domestic standing army.“The menace of a national police force, aka a standing army, vested with so much power cannot be overstated, nor can its danger be ignored,” wrote Whitehead, before listing numerous examples of how the DHS is instrumental in pushing America’s decline into a militarized police state.

One such example occurred earlier this month in Greenville, North Carolina, when teams of armed DHS agents showed up outside a courthouse building. There was no threat to the building – the purpose of the agents’ presence was to “let people know they’re in the area,” while encouraging residents to snitch on their neighbors via the ‘See Something, Say Something’ program.

In another incident, the DHS conducted a military-style invasion of a small town in Illinois complete with armored vehicles, a Black Hawk helicopter and a phalanx of heavy duty equipment and weaponry. It subsequently emerged that the reason behind the show of force – which spooked locals – was to apprehend one man for downloading indecent images on his computer.

Given this history, the Brinkleys should probably count themselves lucky that they didn’t have guns pointed at their head during the seizure of the Land Rover, which the DHS apparently sees as a bigger threat to America than the nation’s porous borders and the fact that the TSA, a subdivision of the DHS, allows illegal aliens to board planes without identification.

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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

http://www.infowars.com/homeland-sec...a-regulations/

CBP Targets, Intercepts Illegally Imported Vehicles

Release Date:
April 15, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Customs and Border Protection is on the lookout for illegal imports of Land Rover Defender vehicles that do not meet federal safety standards, including the standard that requires airbags. This year, CBP has identified dozens of illegal shipments at various ports of entry across the United States, including Baltimore, Charleston, S.C., Jacksonville, Fla., and Savannah, Ga.

Most recently on March 5, CBP officers at the port of Norfolk, working closely with the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seized a shipment of two imported Land Rover Defender vehicles. CBP officers seized the shipment following the determination that the vehicle identification numbers on the vehicles were found to be fraudulently manipulated. The VINs were changed to make the vehicles appear older than they are to take advantage of an exemption that allows vehicles that are at least 25 years old to be imported without regard to whether they comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. The shipment arriving from Great Britain had been targeted for examination by CBP's Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center in Washington, D.C.

"Ensuring the safety of imported products is a top priority for CBP," said Allen Gina, CBP's assistant commissioner for international trade. "The concerted targeting efforts of CTAC and the vigilance of CBP officers and import specialists at our ports of entry will help ensure that unsafe vehicles from overseas markets do not reach our roadways."

NHTSA regulates imported motor vehicles. Illegally imported vehicles can pose potential safety hazards to drivers and all road users.

"Safety is the Department of Transportation's top priority," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. "Those who illegally import Defenders and fraudulently offer the vehicles for sale are motivated by profit and do so at the expense of U.S. consumers and legitimate U.S. businesses that follow the law. We continue to work with our partners at CBP and the CTAC to prevent the importation of illegal vehicles and to inform consumers about the presence of and potential safety risks associated with these vehicles."

Since October 2012, CBP has seized more than a dozen illegal Land Rover Defender vehicles for violating NHTSA and Environmental Protection Agency regulations, for a total value of approximately $250,000. The overseas value for this model of vehicle is approximately $25,000. However, the resale value in the U.S. can run as much as $150,000 per vehicle depending on its model year, condition, and because these vehicles cannot be lawfully imported into the U.S. unless they are at least 25 years old. A significant portion of those shipments arrived into the U.S. via sea cargo from Great Britain.

Prospective buyers of imported vehicles can confirm the validity of the vehicle by checking the VIN in a vehicle history report. Buyers who suspect a vehicle is being illegally imported are encouraged to report suspected trade violations. All information submitted to CBP is voluntary and confidential.

To report a possible trade violation, please visit eAllegations.

The CTAC combines resources and staff from several government agencies, including NHTSA and EPA, to protect the American public from harm caused by unsafe imported products. For additional information on the CTAC and import safety, please visit CBP.gov/Trade, and click on the "Priority Trade Issues" tab.

Please check out CBP images via Flickr and video images via DVIDS.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national...orted-vehicles