U.S. Border Patrol Agents Seize $2.4M of Narcotics by Land and Sea

San Diego – Law enforcement officials intercepted three smuggling attempts over the last week in San Diego and Ventura Counties. Agents arrested 22 suspects and confiscated $2,404,185 in marijuana and methamphetamine. 

Tuesday at approximately 12:30 a.m., California National Guardsmen working in support of Customs and Border Protection alerted Border Patrol agents assigned to coastal enforcement duties of a panga landing near Deer Creek beach in Ventura County. Border Patrol agents responded to the scene and, through the collaborative efforts of several agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, California National Guard, California State Parks and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, arrested 20 suspected smugglers and confiscated 4,087 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $2,048,095. The 20 suspects, narcotics, and boat were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) for further investigation.

On Monday, at about 11:30 a.m., agents assigned to the Interstate 5 Border Patrol checkpoint encountered a 22-year-old male United States citizen driving a silver 2000 Mazda 626 and his 21-year-old male United States citizen passenger. Agents became suspicious of the men’s demeanor and referred them for a secondary inspection. A Border Patrol K-9 performed a cursory inspection of the vehicle resulting in an alert. Agents searched the vehicle and discovered four bundles of methamphetamine inside the trunk in plastic grocery bags. The methamphetamine weighed 12.02 pounds and had an estimated street value of $240,400. The suspected smugglers and narcotics were taken into custody and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation. The vehicle was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.

On June 8, at approximately 9:10 a.m., a Border Patrol K-9 team patrolling near the I-5 checkpoint stopped in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. As the agent exited the vehicle, his K-9 alerted to the trunk of a nearby silver 2011 Toyota Camry. A subsequent search of the trunk revealed nine bundles of marijuana. The bundles weighed 231.28 pounds and had an estimated street value of $115,690. The marijuana and vehicle were taken into custody and turned over to ICE HSI for further investigation.

If you have information about maritime smuggling or suspicious activity along the coast of Southern California, please contact the Sector San Diego U.S. Coast Guard Joint Harbor Operations Center at (800) 854-9834.

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.

Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years in Prison

LAS VEGAS—A Las Vegas-based narcotics dealer who coordinated the importation and interstate shipment of large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana across state lines, has been sentenced to almost 20 years in prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Bryan Binns, aka Jose Silva Ayala, 29, a citizen of Mexico who last resided in Henderson, Nevada, was sentenced on Monday, April 30, 2012, by Senior U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George, to 235 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit numerous vehicles, firearms, and over $38,000 in currency. Binns pleaded guilty on November 23, 2011, to four counts of conspiracy to possess controlled substances with the intent to distribute (methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana). Binns has a prior felony conviction for unlawful re-entry into the United States following deportation.

According to the court filings, in February 2010, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Las Vegas initiated an investigation of Binns and determined that he was coordinating the transportation of large quantities of narcotics, often via semi tractor-trailers, to persons in other states. During the course of the investigation, over five kilograms of methamphetamine, two kilograms of heroin, one kilogram of cocaine, and 227 kilograms of marijuana were seized. The drugs were seized from co-conspirators during several traffic stops in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona, between November 2010 and February 2011.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley W. Giles, and investigated by the DEA and the Organized Crime Drug Trafficking Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF Program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies, which include the DEA, FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, IRS, and the U.S. Coast Guard, in cooperation with the Department of Justice Criminal Division, Tax Division, and the 93 U.S. Attorney’s Offices, as well as with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

Final Crew Member Sentenced in Multi-Ton Maritime Cocaine Seizure

TAMPA, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the sentencing of the fourth crew member of a vessel smuggling an estimated 6,700 kilograms of cocaine in the Caribbean Sea. Manuel Cuero Caicedo (31, Colombia, South America) was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in prison by the Honorable Steven D. Merryday. Caicedo was part of a manned, self-propelled semi-submersible vessel, or SPSS, that was interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter (USCGC) Mohawk on September 30, 2011 in international waters, approximately 110 miles off of the coast of Honduras. The SPSS sank during the interdiction and USCGC Mohawk officers detained the four-man crew, who were later transferred to Tampa for prosecution.

Shortly after the interdiction, a multi-agency effort began to recover the suspected drug cargo of the sunken SPSS. This effort included the deployment of a Federal Bureau of Investigation Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team, which conducted dive operations at the site of the submerged vessel from the USCGC Cypress. The recovery operations from the SPSS yielded packages of cocaine totaling an estimated 6,700 kilograms.

Other SPSS crew members Jorge Alfredo Colomer Hylock, Gulforth Sual Romera Alegria, and Marcos Salazar Obregon, were previously each sentenced to 14 years in prison.

This case was investigated by OCDETF’s Panama Express Strike Force, comprised of agents and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and Joint Interagency Task Force South. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Austin Shutt.

Multi-Ton Cocaine Seizure from Interdicted Drug Smuggling Vessel

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TAMPA, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the recovery of an estimated 6,700 kilograms of cocaine from a submerged drug smuggling vessel in the Caribbean Sea. The vessel, a self-propelled semi-submersible vessel, or SPSS, was interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) MOHAWK on September 30, 2011, in international waters of the Caribbean some 110 miles off of the coast of Honduras. The vessel sank during the interdiction, and USCGC MOHAWK detained the four crew members, who were later transferred to Tampa for prosecution.

Shortly after the interdiction, a multi-agency effort began to recover the suspected drug cargo of the sunken SPSS. This effort included the deployment of the FBI Laboratory’s Technical Dive Team, located in Quantico, Virginia, which conducted dive operations at the site of the submerged vessel from USCGC CYPRESS. These operations yielded evidence including packages of cocaine totaling an estimated 6,700 kilograms from the SPSS.

Today, this evidence arrived at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg aboard USCGC CYPRESS, where it will be transferred to the custody of investigators of the Panama Express Strike Force. The crew of the SPSS (Jorge Colomer, 47, of Honduras; Guilforth Romero, 24, of Honduras; Manuel Cuero, 30, of Colombia; and Marcos Salazar, 30, of Colombia) have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida for violation of the Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008 and are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.

A similar recovery operation earlier this year yielded over 6,000 kilograms of cocaine from an interdicted SPSS that also sank in the Caribbean. The crew of that vessel is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by OCDETF’s Panama Express Strike Force, comprised of agents and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and Joint Interagency Task Force South. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Austin Shutt.

CBP, Coast Guard in Puerto Rico Join to Remember 9/11

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Sustaining an enduring collaboration in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all operational components of Customs and Border Protection joined the U.S. Coast Guard in remembering Friday the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

With the backdrop of the Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen Community Center, in Ramey, a commemoration event was organized by a joint committee with the purpose of collectively reflect on the meaning of such fateful date.

The symbolism of the occasion was led by a joint CBP and USCG honor guard, engaging in all the official activities that included the show of colors, a flag folding ceremony, and a three volley salute. The folded U.S. flag was presented as a gift from CBP to the event host, Capt. Robert Phillips.

In his welcome remarks, Air Station Borinquen Commander Captain Philips used the famous quote “'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” to highlight how through remembering the tragic events, our missions and collective resolve to protect the nation is always present. “We are a united DHS,” he added.

On behalf of CBP, Director of Field Operations Marcelino Borges shared “the security of our borders and country as a whole remains our highest priority, and even as many threats still linger, our nation is stronger than it was on 9/11”.

In preparation for the event, an essay contest was held in which employees throughout Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands could share what 9/11 meant for them. The three winning essays were recognized at the event, to wit: Marine Interdiction Agent Isidro Linares, first place; Port Director Felix Cruz-Diaz, second place; and Air Interdiction Agent William G. Sterling, third place.

A poignant e-mail written by a former Border Patrol Agent turned Air Marshall, as he flew over ground zero on the first anniversary of 9/11, was read by Chief Patrol Agent Michael DeBruhl.

The event came to an emotional peak, as Eileen Millan read the recollection of her aunt, a survivor from the World Trade Center.

To close the moving ceremony, air assets from Air Station Borinquen and the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch performed a fly-by all those attending.

Director of Air Operations Johnny Morales thanked those in attendance indicating that “we should never forget what happened that day, which is the reason why we are committed to protect our great nation.”

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.

Man Pleads Guilty to Ammunition Possession Charges

GULFPORT, MS—William Cebert Pauley, a/k/a William Nicholas Pauley, age 64, originally from Maryland, pled guilty in U.S. District Court on July 7, 2011, to possession of ammunition after felony conviction, U.S. Attorney John Dowdy announced.

Pauley was indicted for possessing the ammunition after a search of his storage facility in Jackson County on March 15, 2011. He has prior convictions dating back to 1979 for unlawful possession of a Coast Guard license and false statements to a savings and loan in Maryland, a 2001 felony bad check conviction in Virginia in 2001, a 2001 felon in possession of a firearm conviction from Florida, and two felony convictions for forgery in Missouri in 2007. He was on probation for the Missouri convictions at the time of his arrest in Mississippi.

Pauley will be sentenced on September 30, 2011, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.

Announcing the Maritime Operations Coordination Plan

As part of Secretary Napolitano’s vision for One DHS, the Department today unveiled an cross-component Maritime Operations Coordination (MOC) plan to enhance the Department’s coordination capabilities when responding to threats against the United States.

The plan—which will strengthen coordination, planning, information sharing, and intelligence integration for maritime operations among the U.S. Coast Guard (UCSG), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—was jointly signed by, USCG Commandant Admiral Robert Papp, Jr., CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin, and ICE Director John Morton. Each of these DHS component agencies has unique responsibilities in preparing for and responding to a terrorist attack or other incident in or near U.S. waters, making effective coordination among these agencies essential.

The MOC plan focuses on improved collaboration across five key sectors:

•Coordination

•Planning

•Information sharing

•Intelligence integration

•Response activities

In addition, the plan outlines the need for a layered approach to security while underscoring the importance of working in tandem with federal, state, local, tribal, territorial and international partners.

Drug Kingpin Sentenced

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division; and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced that Edgar Vallejo-Guarin, 50, a Colombian drug kingpin, was sentenced yesterday to 22 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz. The sentence was imposed as a result of Vallejo’s earlier guilty plea to conducting a continuing criminal enterprise involving repeated violations of United States drug laws. Vallejo was also fined $1 million.

The case against Vallejo was the product of a long-term joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Colombian National Police. In June 1999, United States Coast Guard officers traveling aboard a British Royal Navy warship located and seized a freighter in the Caribbean which was carrying more than 4,000 kilos of cocaine. Vallejo was indicted in 2001 after law enforcement officers in the United States and Colombia determined that he was the owner of a large part of the load. However, his whereabouts were unknown and he remained a fugitive until September 2008, when he was located in Spain by the DEA and arrested by the Guardia Civil, one of the Spanish national police agencies. He was extradited to the United States in 2010.

In a factual statement submitted to the court at his guilty plea, Vallejo admitted to having organized and directed drug shipments totaling thousands of kilograms cocaine from Colombia to the United States, which were smuggled via motor boats, freighters, and airplanes into Miami, San Juan, New York City and Houston. The defendant at various times ran organizations in all of those cities and also in the Detroit and Chicago areas, which distributed the cocaine and sent the proceeds to him in Colombia. The defendant admitted to running this criminal drug enterprise between 1987 and 2001, when he was indicted and became a fugitive.

In addition to the defendant’s payment of the $1 million fine, the United States Attorney’s Office has been able to legally seize and is forfeiting to the United States an airplane worth more than $2 million, and bank accounts in the United States, Switzerland, and Austria holding more than $10 million in drug proceeds. The sentence of 22 years’ imprisonment was two years longer than the required minimum of 20 years. Under Federal law, Vallejo will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence.

Mr. Ferrer congratulated the many agents of the DEA and the FBI who worked together on this successful investigation of a major drug trafficker. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Tamen and William Athas.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

CBP Marine Interdiction Agents Uncover Two Recreational Boats with 720 Pounds of Marijuana

San Diego — CBP marine interdiction agents stopped two smuggling at sea attempts in the past few weeks, seizing a total of about 720 pounds of marijuana from boats that might otherwise blend into typical San Diego recreational boating traffic.

On June 8, CBP marine interdiction agents in San Diego found 189 packages of marijuana, weighing nearly 555 pounds, hidden on this boat.

In the first incident at about 10 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, a disabled vessel called for towing assistance at sea from a local company. U.S. Customs and Border Protection marine interdiction agents on a CBP interceptor boat, together with U.S. Coast Guard personnel on a USCG patrol vessel located the disabled vessel as it was being towed, and followed it to the dock at the Shelter Island boat ramp.

At the boat ramp, CBP marine interdiction agents boarded the disabled vessel, a 1991 Bayliner personal recreational boat and detected that the boat had a false floor. A CBP officer with a narcotic detector dog was requested at the dock and responded to screen the boat. The canine alerted.

Underneath the false floor, CBP agents found about 165 pounds of marijuana in cellophane-wrapped bundles, worth an estimated $100,000.

CBP seized the vessel and narcotics, as well as the truck and trailer that were used to transport the boat. Agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Marine Task Force took custody of the two men on board, who will face criminal prosecution. The men are both Mexican nationals, age 28 and 36.

The second incident occurred on Wednesday, June 8. CBP marine interdiction agents out on patrol spotted a private recreational boat entering the U.S. from Mexican waters. The CBP agents were suspicious of the boat, a 2004 Bayliner, riding unusually low in the water, and followed it to the docks.

After the boat was docked at a temporary slip, CBP marine interdiction agents searched the vessel and interviewed the female driver, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen who had been the only person on board.

CBP marine interdiction agents found false compartments built into boat containing 189 packages of marijuana, weighing nearly 555 pounds, and worth an estimated $330,000.

CBP seized the vessel and narcotics. ICE agents from the Marine Task Force took custody of the woman, who will face criminal prosecution.

The San Diego Air and Marine Branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a member of the Maritime Unified Command. The Maritime Unified Command is comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP Office of Air & Marine, CBP Office of Field Operations, CBP Border Patrol, ICE, as well as state and local law enforcement partners operating in the San Diego and Orange County maritime domain. The Maritime Unified Command utilizes the fusion of intelligence, planning and operations to target the threat of transnational crime along the southern California coastal border.

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.

CBIG Law Enforcement Entities Intercept 7 Illegal Aliens

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – Last night, law enforcement entities of the Caribbean Border Interagency Group intercepted seven undocumented alien citizens.

Late Thursday evening, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter detected a vessel traveling eastward without its required navigational lights and notified U.S. Customs and Border Protection to intercept.

CBP air interdiction agents maintained the vessel under surveillance, coordinating an interdiction by a Mayaguez CBP vessel who intercepted a 15 foot “yola” type wooden vessel five nautical miles near the coast of Aguadilla .

USCG personnel documented the incursion via biometrics, and CBP Border Patrol Agents are interviewing the aliens.

According to the prosecutorial guidelines established by the Caribbean Border Interagency Group, the three alien subjects will be prosecuted and the USCG is scheduled to repatriate the remaining aliens later today.

Border Patrol Agents will assume custody of the undocumented aliens in Mayaguez for further immigration processing at the Ramey station.

Two of the undocumented aliens will face prosecution for attempting to re-enter the U.S. after a prior deportation and one subject will be processed for attempting to enter at a place not designated by immigration officers.

The Cuban alien will return to his place of departure under the "wet foot, dry foot policy."

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.

CBP Assists in $30M Cocaine Seizure Near Honduras

Washington — U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine assisted in the disruption of more than $30 million worth of contraband earlier this month.

On May 12, a Jacksonville-based P-3 aircrew on a Joint Interagency Task Force-South patrol mission detected a surface target of interest northeast of Nicaragua. P-3 crews obtained radar and visual contact of a 40-foot go-fast vessel with four persons on board.

Assets observed the presence of 16 barrels of fuel and 35 to 40 bales of contraband. P-3 aircrews alerted a nearby U.S. Coast Guard Cutter and Honduran law enforcement. USCG launched a rugged hulled inflatable boat, while Honduran law enforcement launched a helicopter and two maritime chase vessels to intercept.

CBP aircraft observed the vessel dump six bales before being intercepted by a Honduran law enforcement maritime vessel. Honduran law enforcement boarded the vessel 20 miles east of the Honduran/Nicaraguan border and recovered 36 bales containing 2,420 pounds of cocaine.

Four suspects were taken into custody by local authorities.

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.