Drug Trafficking

Border Agents Find Heroin Stuffed in a Guy's Belly Button

Ladies and gentlemen, the above photo is a man's belly button stuffed with heroin, in an attempted smuggling attempt in Nogales.See also:-Bell Peppers Will Not Disguise 2,000 Pounds of Weed, Mexican National Discovers-Border Agents Find Women With Buckets of Chicken: Half Original Recipe, Half Meth- ... More >>

Failed Meth-Smuggling Attempt: Woman Duct-Taped Two Pounds of Meth to Her Belly

In one of the less-thought-out attempts to smuggle meth into the United States, Customs and Border protection officers busted a Washington woman with a couple pounds of meth taped to her belly.Believe it or not, an officer got suspicious when he spotted 28-year-old Laura Ivanez-Ramirez in the pedest ... More >>

230 Pounds of Cheese Seized at U.S./Mexico Border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is proud to report that it has prevented 230 pounds of cheese from entering the United States of America.See also:-Drug Smugglers Now Shooting Weed Cannons Into United States-Border Crossing Gone Wrong: Jeep Gets Stuck on Top of 14-Foot Fence-Piñatas Used to Hide ... More >>

Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

One of five men charged in the 2010 shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry pleaded guilty today to first-degree murder.Three of the four other people charged in Terry's death -- which has been linked to the "Fast and Furious" operation -- are still fugitives, while another was arrest ... More >>

Devils Diciples Motorcycle Gangsters Indicted on Tons of Charges, Including Trying to Murder Their Own in Arizona

The feds unsealed an indictment charging 41 members and associates of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Club -- including the national president and national vice president -- with crimes mostly related to gambling, drugs, and violence.The Justice Department says the crimes committed by members of the ... More >>

Vekol Valley Deaths: PCSO Says at Least One Person From the Other Party of Five Was Found

As the Tempe Police Department got verification earlier this month that the five burned bodies found in an SUV in the Vekol Valley were identified as James and Yafit Butwin and their three children, another group of five people was still apparently missing.Pinal County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tim ... More >>

Paul Babeu Jumps to Apparently Wrong Conclusion: Tempe Cops Say Five Burned Bodies in Vekol Valley Resulted from Murder-Suicide, Not Drug-Cartel Activity

Five bodies were found burned inside an SUV in the Vekol Valley this weekend, and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu was quick to make his assumptions about what happened  public on Facebook. According to the embattled sheriff, the burned bodies probably were the work of a "violent dru ... More >>

Louie Puroll, Fired Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy, Demands That His Reinstatement Hearing Be Closed to Public

Just back from a trip to Pinal County, where former sheriff's Deputy Louie Puroll is seeking reinstatement to his job at a hearing of the county's Merit Commission. Bottom line: Puroll this morning in Florence exercised his right to have the hearing closed to the public. This meant ... More >>

First Personal

Weed, Cash, Human Smugglers, and Illegal Immigrants Found During DPS Raid of Avondale Drop House

​Four alleged human smugglers were arrested last night when the Department of Public Safety busted up a drop house in Avondale.Also found inside the home was weed, cash, and 19 illegal immigrants -- many of whom have been arrested before for crimes like drug possession, weapons misconduct, child a ... More >>

Joe Arpaio: Military Vets Will Get Preferential Treatment For MCSO Jobs

Joe Arpaio: I want military boys!​There are currently 175 law enforcement job openings at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and if you're not a military veteran returning from combat, any application you may submit will only be considered after those submitted by returning military folks, Sher ... More >>

ICE Agent Leads Police on 45-Minute Chase After Getting Busted in Marijuana Smuggling Sting

ICE Deportation Officer Jason Lowery got popped yesterday during a drug smuggling sting.​Jason Alistair Lowery, 34, is a deportation officer with U.S. Immigration and customs enforcement. He's also allegedly a weed smuggler who led authorities on a 45-minute chase -- in his government-owned vehicl ... More >>

MCSO Busts Border Patrol Agent With Oxycodone and Fake Weed

​The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's Human Smuggling Unit arrested a U.S. Border Patrol agent last night as he was allegedly speeding down State Route 85 in possession of oxycodone and fake marijuana.According to the MCSO, the HSU was patrolling a known drug-smuggling route when they bumped int ... More >>

The Spoils of "Operation OGSTYLE" Gang Shakeup: Guns, Cocaine, Cash, and Cars

​Following yesterday's gang shakeup in south Phoenix, authorities are now well-equipped to make one hell of a rap video -- they seized cocaine, dozens of fancy cars, and enough cash to make it rain for days.The Phoenix Police Department, as well as several other law enforcement agencies, carried o ... More >>

Morning Poll: Are You Buyin' Joe Arpaio's Claim That Immigrants Are Avoiding Maricopa County?

Are smugglers avoiding Joe Arpaio? He seems to think so.​Marciopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio claimed yesterday that "intelligence sources" tell him that illegal immigrants and drug smugglers are avoiding Maricopa County to avoid him and his tough guy antics.He says smugglers are now choosing to use ... More >>

Reports of DMX Smuggling Drugs into Prison are False, According to the Arizona Department of Corrections

DMX​Despite some media reports to the contrary, DMX did not "smuggle drugs" into prison, according to both a representative for DMX and a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Corrections. Though the public inmate record for DMX (real name: Earl Simmons) shows a disciplinary infraction on June ... More >>

ICE Agent Accused of Leaking Sensitive Information to Family Members With Ties to Drug Cartels

​A Nogales-based Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent was arrested yesterday for allegedly handing over sensitive government documents to family members with "strong" ties to drug cartels.According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Jovana Samaniego Deas, 33, a special agent with the agen ... More >>

Seventy Percent of Guns Used in Mexican Crimes Traced Back to United States

CNN¡Viva el gun industry!​As Sheriff Joe Arpaio brags on his office for arresting six immigrants heading for the southeast, a group of United States Senators are releasing a report noting 70 percent of captured guns used by drug cartels in Mexico originated in the United States. One of these smu ... More >>

MCSO Infiltration by Mexican Drug Cartel Apparently a Touchy Subject for Joe Arpaio

Kholood Eid This is the face Joe Arpaio makes when you ask him about Mexican drug cartels infiltrating his office.​Don't mention how the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office was infiltrated by a Mexican drug cartel to Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- unless, of course, you want to watch him hijack a press ... More >>

Drug Cartel Infiltration of MCSO: Four of Seven Officers Cleared of Criminal Wrongdoing; Face Internal Investigation

Four employees have been cleared, but drug cartels have still infiltrated the office of America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff."​Four of the seven Maricopa County Sheriff's Office employees suspected of having ties to a drug-and human-smuggling operation have been cleared of any criminal cond ... More >>

Lieutenant Mike Stauffer, Joe Arpaio Opponent, Says MCSO Officers Investigated for Ties to Cartels Should be Put on Leave

Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer wants Sheriff Joe Arpaio's job.​As Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio continues to take it on the chin for various acts of mismanagement and corruption within his department -- which now includes Mexican drug cartels infiltrating the MCSO -- the man who wants hi ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Serving Warrants on MCSO Employees Allegedly Involved in Drug and Human Smuggling, County Sources Say *UPDATED*: MCSO Confirms Arrests

​UPDATE: the MCSO confirms to New Times that three sheriff's deputies have been arrested. Click here for details.The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office served search warrants at three west Valley locations this morning, and county sources tell New Times the boys in beige are investigating some of th ... More >>

MCSO Confirms Arrests of Three Sheriff's Deputies With Ties to Drug and Human Smuggling

Another apparent black eye for Joe Arpaio and the MCSO.​Our sources, it appears, were correct.The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office just confirmed that three sheriff's deputies have been arrested in connection with a drug and human smuggling operation.Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County A ... More >>

Pinal County Jail Inmate Assaults Detention Officer to Avoid Release; Fears Mexican "Hit" Squad

PCSOAlexandro Guerrero​On Sunday, April 17, 26-year-old Alexandro Guerrero was scheduled to be released from a Pinal County jail where he'd been serving time for a failure to comply warrant out of Yuma. But Guerrero wasn't ready to leave, so he punched a detention officer in the face and attacked ... More >>

VIDEO of Pinal County Inmate Attacking Guard So He Could Stay in Jail

This is Alexandro Guerrero beating the crap out of a Pinal County detention officer so he wouldn't be released from jail.​Since our earlier post about a Pinal County jail inmate who beat up a detention officer so he could remain in custody and hopefully avoid a "hit" put out on him by a Mexican dr ... More >>

Feds Debunk Another Sheriff Babeu Claim, Say Cartels Not Really Occupying "75-100" Hilltops in Pinal County

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu​ Cartel members aren't really turning Pinal County into something more like Afghanistan, despite what Sheriff Paul Babeu wrote in a letter last week to the mayors of several Arizona border cities.Ironically, the sheriff had written in response to the mayors' urg ... More >>

Sheriff Paul Babeu Responds to Border Mayors' Letter -- and He's Not Happy

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu​Since our earlier post about a letter sent by several mayors of cities along the U.S./Mexico border to Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, the sheriff's responded with a letter of his own. The letter from the border mayors to Babeu asked that he tone down some of the r ... More >>

Drug Smugglers Turn to Weed-Firing Catapult

KVOASmugglers tried to use this catapult to launch weed over the border on Friday night.​Drug smugglers trying to get weed across the U.S./Mexico border are getting even more creative than simply loading watermelon trucks with marijuana -- National Guard troops found a catapult a drug cartel's usi ... More >>

Louie Puroll Gets Fired for Lying

Louie Puroll Firing Put in Second Place by Chandler Mall Standoff

The best thing that happened to Louie Puroll and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office yesterday was the standoff out at the Chandler Mall, a made-for-TV incident that put the deputy's firing deep into second place, news-wise. ​ Still, by now everyone who follows local news knows Pinal County S ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, December 9, 2010

One-on-One Time With a Pinal County Deputy -- Whose Claim He Was Shot by a Drug Smuggler Is Full of Holes -- Produces Startling Results

Joe Arpaio's Latest Bogus Death Threat

Sheriff Joe never met a fake death threat he didn't like All it takes is a cell phone text and bit of garbled audio to get Sheriff Joe Arpaio running around like a chicken sans head. "America's toughest sheriff"? Puh-lease.  As was reported by Fox 10 back on July 29, and is now ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, June 17, 2010

DPS Announces First Quarter Drug Bust Numbers; They're Impressive

www.mysouthwest.com​Arizona is a hot-bed for drug activity in the United States and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced this morning just how hot it is. According to DPS, officers recovered nearly $30 million in drugs and more than $2 million in drug money during several ... More >>

Two Teenagers Set Record for Largest Attempted Meth Smuggling Ever at Yuma Checkpoint

www.shoelace.org Let's just hope her kids aren't in the backseat.​Two teenage girls made history at a border checkpoint in Yuma, but it's hardly a record that will make their families swell with pride. The two unnamed girls, ages 18 and 19, were arrested by border patrol agents for attempt ... More >>

Phoenix Police See Spike in Heroin Use

www.motivatedphoto.com​Just when we though crystal meth reigned supreme as the drug of choice among hard dopers, here's this blast from the past. Remember heroin? Well drug addicts sure do, and according to Phoenix police, "smack" is coming back in a big way."Between January 2006 and January ... More >>

Phoenix FBI Office Gets Experienced New Boss, Nathan Gray

Nathan Gray, a veteran lawman with experience in counter-terrorism and big-time drug smuggling, has been selected to head up the FBI's Phoenix office. The FBI didn't put out a picture of Gray, but posted a bio of him today on its Web site. Gray previously worked here in 2002 as an assistant spec ... More >>

Janet Napolitano Meets with Congressional Hispanic Caucus Thursday: Let's Hope They Grill Her Fat Ass

photo courtesy of Eduardo Barraza at Barriozona.comThe Congressional Hispanic Caucus needs to turn her fanny into virtual ground round till Nappy yanks Arpaio's 287(g).The congressional daily The Hill is reporting that Department of Homeland Security czar Janet Napolitano will be meeting privately f ... More >>

Arpaio's First Racial Profiling Sweep of the New Year Starts Tomorrow

Arpayaso harasses brown folk again, this time near Buckeye. Hot off his trip to NYC where he made an ass of himself on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's starting his first Hispanic-hunting foray of the season, as you can see from the press release below. The anti-brown dragne ... More >>

The Bermudez Triangle

The immigrant rights movement needs Elias Bermudez, only there's a problem: A lot of his own people don't trust him

Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution

Joe Arpaio, Andy Thomas and Dennis Wilenchik hit New Times with grand jury subpoenas

Resident Evil: Supporters of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean show their true colors.

The New Boss

Police have shut down most of the meth labs in Phoenix, but now the drug is a big import from Mexico -- cheap, pure and more plentiful than ever

Various Artists

Def Jam Recordings Presents Music Inspired by Scarface (Def Jam)

Furious and Furiouser

Local lawyer lays down his opinionated tracks

Border Boyz

As narcocorridos - Mexican drug ballads - get nastier, the crowds in Phoenix get bigger and bigger

Hello Mali

Bang the Drum Thusly

Visa Granted

Business partner of Symingtons gets pass good for one year

ARIZONA'S OWN J. EDGAR HOOVER

RUBEN ORTEGA USED THE PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT TO PURSUE HIS PERSONAL AGENDA-AND HIS POLITICAL FOES