Another major drug smuggling bust occurred near the southern border in Arizona this week.
On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced on the platform “X” that his agents had “interdicted 2 smuggling loads consisting of over 304 lbs. of fentanyl worth over $1.9M.”
According to the CDC, over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like #fentanyl.
Yesterday, USBP agents in Nogales and Willcox, AZ interdicted 2 smuggling loads consisting of over 304 lbs. of fentanyl worth over $1.9M.
Chief Owens revealed that the apprehension of the drugs occurred in Nogales and Wilcox.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin added context to the news, sharing the Drug Enforcement Administration’s estimation that “one kilo of fentanyl equals 500,000 potential lethal doses.” Melugin did the math, finding that these latest encounters added up to 138 kilos. He wrote that the “Border Patrol potentially saved a LOT of lives” – possibly 69 million lives from these doses alone.
This is a massive amount of fentanyl seized by Border Patrol *between ports of entry* in a single day:
304 lbs.
For perspective, DEA says one kilo of fentanyl = 500,000 potential lethal doses.
Border officials continue to find record numbers of fentanyl at the border. In the just-completed fiscal year, ending in September, agents apprehended over 27,000 pounds of fentanyl at the border, which was more than the previous two years combined. According to reporting from the Washington Post, the amount of this extremely deadly drug that is seized by law enforcement is only a fraction of the total numbers that are smuggled into the interior of the country.
Arizona leaders are concerned about the proliferation of fentanyl across the border and polluting communities across the state. Earlier this year, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and other attorneys general about the fentanyl crisis affecting much of the country. After her meeting, Mayes revealed she told the attendees that her office “and our law enforcement partners have seized approximately 7.8 million fentanyl pills.” Mayes added, “We need to throw everything we can at this crisis – new technology at the border, enhanced and strengthened partnerships, and access to more funding. I stand ready to work with anyone committed to solving this crisis so we can save lives and help Arizona families and communities heal.”
Governor Katie Hobbs has also acknowledged the threat that fentanyl and other drugs pose to Arizonans. In September, the governor issued a press release to highlight a meeting she had with law enforcement and other southern Arizona officials. At the time, her office shared that “DPS has seized over 12,200 pounds of drugs” to date in 2023. Hobbs wrote, “My administration has worked tirelessly to support border communities, stem the flow of drugs and human trafficking, and keep our neighborhoods safe.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A school bus driver in an Arizona town was arrested for alleged smuggling activity.
Last week, the Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, John R. Modlin, posted to “X” that “the Brian A. Terry Station Field Training Unit arrested a U.S. citizen, (who was) caught smuggling migrants inside a bus in Naco, Arizona.”
The Brian A. Terry Station Field Training Unit arrested a U.S. citizen, also a school bus driver, caught smuggling migrants inside a bus in Naco, AZ. Vigilant border camera operators played a crucial role in this apprehension after observing suspected migrants enter the bus. pic.twitter.com/DmfBbCXCQq
Chief Modlin added that “vigilant border camera operators played a crucial role in this apprehension after observing suspected migrants enter the bus.”
American citizens play a significant role in cross-border human and drug trafficking. A CATO Institute study in September 2022 found that “over ninety percent of fentanyl seizures occur at legal crossing points or interior vehicle checkpoints, not on illegal migration routes, so U.S. citizens (who are subject to less scrutiny) when crossing legally are the best smugglers.”
In 2019, the Washington Post reported that “more than sixty percent of people convicted of smuggling in federal courts in recent years have been U.S. citizens, the majority of them with little or no criminal history, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.” The report added that “U.S. citizens are pulled into smuggling through word of mouth and social media”…and that “smugglers have been recruited by relatives, spouses and friends – even their bosses at work – and typically communicate via cellphone with the migrants and their guides in Mexico.”
Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich warned of the dangers posed to American teenagers, who are highly sought-after targets by cartels and smugglers for illegal couriering activities. In a 2022 op-ed for Fox News, the two officials wrote that “drug cartels are now using SnapChat, Instagram, and other social media apps to recruit American teenagers from around the country to transport migrants and drugs from the border,” and that “high-speed pursuits between these teenagers and local law enforcement have become daily events.”
The two officials concluded their piece by sounding the alarm about the reality on the ground, saying, “As law enforcement officials in our state, we can say with full confidence that we have never seen anything like this crisis at the border and how it is affecting everyday Americans in their communities. While many media outlets have declined to show the American public the disturbing images of increasing high-speed pursuits and other border-related devastation here at home, the death and danger they present are very real; lives are at stake.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The crisis at the southern border continues to wreak havoc on law enforcement and local communities and to invite a growing number of concerns over the security of the nation.
John Modlin, the Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, posted on “X” that border agents based in the Three Points Station had recently “encountered approximately 2,500 migrants near San Miguel, Arizona.”
Over the weekend, agents from the Three Points Station encountered approximately 2,500 migrants near San Miguel, AZ, including a single group of over 1,000 migrants.
Tucson Sector agents continue to work tirelessly addressing the migrant surge across the southwest border. pic.twitter.com/LS7O6vgbYq
Chief Modlin added that there was a group of 1,000 aliens included in the total number for the weekend.
The Tucson Border Sector is one of the nation’s most active when it comes to illegal immigration, with over 373,000 encounters of migrants taking place in the just completed 2023 Fiscal Year. This number represented almost a fifty percent change from Fiscal Year 2022, when officials reported almost 252,000 apprehensions.
Though the encounters, arrests, and processing of these migrants have kept border agents extremely busy throughout the year, these numbers are not all they – or other officials – must worry about. The Tucson Sector has seen a growing number of ‘gotaways’ – migrants who successfully evade arrest and whose identities and motives are largely unknown. This sector is also a significant vein of drug trafficking for smugglers and cartels, who can largely operate without too much opposition when agents are tied up with a record number of apprehensions.
In Fiscal Year 2023, border officials encountered 2,475,669 migrants illegally attempting to cross into the United States across all sectors. This historic number broke the previously set record in 2022 (2,378,944). During President Joe Biden’s tenure in the White House, law enforcement has apprehended 6.2 million migrants at the southern border, as well as 1.7 million reported ‘gotaways.” Included in the number of FY23 apprehensions were the arrests of 169 individuals on the terrorist watchlist – also a top annual number in the history of CBP statistic-keeping.
The Tucson border chief ended his post about the recent apprehension of thousands of migrants over the past weekend, writing, “Tucson Sector agents continue to work tirelessly addressing the migrant surge across the southwest border.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A high-ranking Border Patrol official is sounding the alarm about the number of ‘gotaways’ in the month of October.
This week, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens posted on “X” that “over 18,000 gotaways” have been known to have escaped detection from law enforcement “in the first 16 days of Fiscal Year 2024.”
Over 18K known gotaways in the first 16 days of FY24. These are individuals whose identities & purpose we do not know. That is why you need every Border Patrol agent to be in the field and on patrol. pic.twitter.com/uQlRgR76HQ
Chief Owens added that “these are individuals whose identities and purpose we do not know.”
The 2024 fiscal year just began this month of October. Ali Bradley, a National Correspondent for NewsNation, reported that there were “roughly 670,000 ‘gotaways’ for Fiscal Year 2023.”
👀 CBP reports more than 18K “known gotaways” in the first 16 days of FY24.
The Tucson sector is seeing record encounter numbers— Agents aren’t able to patrol the border and go after people like this because they’re too busy… pic.twitter.com/rS3aRiukUR
During President Joe Biden’s three-year (and counting) tenure in the White House, there have been more than 1.7 million estimated ‘gotaways’ at the border, compared to just over 415,000 ‘gotaways’ for former President Donald J. Trump’s four years in office. Border officials and experts have varied theories and opinions on how to estimate groups of ‘gotaways’ – especially since some are known to cover their tracks, which are key to Border Patrol’s approximations in the field. The actual number of ‘gotaways’ could be much higher than the reports.
‘Gotaways’ could pose a serious danger to the homeland of America because, as Chief Owens stated, their identities and purpose for migrating to the United States are unknown. However, these ‘gotaways’ aren’t the only concern for border officials and local law enforcement.
With the rising tensions and violence in the Middle East this month, more attention has been given to the apprehensions of aliens crossing America’s border illegally from ‘special interest countries,’ which, according to a definition from the Department of Homeland Security, is “a non-U.S. person, who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests.” Bradley also reported this week that there were more than 76,000 migrants from ‘special interest countries’ arriving in the United States during the just-completed fiscal year.
NEW: 27 migrants from Syria were apprehended in the Tucson sector last week—Compared to 21 in the same sector for the entire month of September.
Sources confirm more than 76k migrants from special interest countries entered the U.S. in FY23 which just ended last month.
Apprehensions of suspected terrorists have also created major fears for law enforcement and elected officials alike, who have seen those numbers drastically increase over the past few years. In the first eleven months of Fiscal Year 2023, officials encountered 151 individuals between ports of entry, who were flagged on the Terrorist Screening Dataset, compared to 98 in FY 2022 and 15 in FY 2021.
The counts of ‘gotaways’ and apprehensions of suspected terrorists and migrants from ‘special interest countries’ aside, the situation at the border has continued to spiral out of control on all fronts. Official numbers from the month of September have not been released as of Friday afternoon, but earlier this month, Fox News reported over 260,000 apprehensions for that month. If those numbers are accurate, which they usually are, that would put the number of apprehensions at the Southwest border for FY 2023 at just under 2,500,000 – an increase over FY 2022, which was a significant jump from FY 2021.
In Chief Owens’ communication about the number of ‘gotaways,’ he also writes, “That is why you need every Border Patrol agent to be in the field and on patrol” – something that the beleaguered and overwhelmed agency hasn’t been able to institute for the better part of the past decade with the exponential rise of illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Border Patrol agents are facing increasing dangers as a result of empowered cartels and smugglers.
Last week, the Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council, Art Del Cueto, posted a picture of online messages that contained threats and concerning solicitations about personal information for agents and members of their families.
Del Cueto said, “Unbelievable! #heroesingreen have to get this information through media because the administration and agency doesn’t put anything out to the #bootsontheground…”
The longtime border official added a number of hashtags to stress his point, including “#wherestheintel,” “#nocommunication,” “#theyreallydontcare,” “#excusescoming,” “#stayvigilant,” “#staystrapped.”
The messages shared by Del Cueto include the following:
“We will pay for any addresses of border patrol agents!!”
“$200 your way if you get me a border patrol agent’s address”
“$1k if you get me they mommas address”
“We offer $$$ for information on BP agents”
“Top dollar on good info”
“I’ll post us torturing any bp agent u send”
Ali Bradley, a National Correspondent for NewsNation, shared additional insight from conversations with Border Patrol agents, stating that “the agency says the messages also show the intent to post the torture of BPAs on social media.”
NEW: “We will pay for any addresses of border patrol agents!!”@CBP sends out internal alert to agents after intercepting messages seeking the home addresses of agents and their families with an intent to do harm— The text message obtained by CBP states, “$200 your way if you… pic.twitter.com/98PA8pYdWv
She added, “Agents I talk to are extremely concerned for their safety. While assaults on agents are down from last year, assaults involving firearms are up slightly.”
Last month, a Border Patrol agent in Texas was assaulted by a suspected smuggler, according to reports. Per pictures provided to the media at the time, the agent appeared to have blood on his face and uniform. In its account of the incident, Fox News wrote, “Migrants and smugglers are increasingly assaulting and confronting U.S. border personnel as the dangerous escalations of violence increase along the border.”
In addition to the increasing dangers and threats against them, Border Patrol agents are finding themselves completely overwhelmed due to the onslaught of migrants and drugs pouring across the U.S.-Mexico boundary lines, which has been caused by the policies of the Biden administration. Over the course of the three-year Biden-Harris administration, apprehensions of illegal aliens and drugs have continued to rise to historic levels, with no end seemingly in sight. This issue has led to growing fears of potential terror in the homeland – especially after the Hamas attack in Israel a couple weeks ago and the escalating number of terrorist suspects who have been encountered at the border (in addition to the sheer number of ‘gotaways’ escaping detection from law enforcement).
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
