Nogales

Border Agents Find a Ton (Literally, 2,000 Pounds) of Weed Hidden in Charcoal

Today in Found at the border: A Mexican national tried to smuggle 2,000 pounds of weed into the United States by hiding the stash in bricks of charcoal.Thanks to Wilhelm Röntgen's 1895 discovery of the X-ray, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were able to see late last week that the 1,000 ... More >>

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 >>

John McCain Takes Tour of Border, Watches Woman Climb Right Over "Danged" Fence

How could you forget Senator John McCain's "complete the danged fence" ad?"It'll work this time," assures underwear model/Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.Well, today, while McCain took a tour of the border, he watched a woman climb over an 18-foot border fence in Nogales.

Bell Peppers Will Not Disguise 2,000 Pounds of Weed, Mexican National Discovers

A Mexican national discovered on Tuesday that a bunch of bell peppers won't conceal more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana from the authorities.U.S. Customs and Border Protection made the find while the man was attempting to enter the United States through a commercial facility in Nogales with the load ... More >>

Border Agents Find Women With Buckets of Chicken: Half Original Recipe, Half Meth

Unless someone's familiar with a Nogales-area establishment that sells chicken and meth in the same bucket, we'll have to rely on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's claim that it busted a smuggling attempt.Yes, the preferred method of smuggling in this attempt apparently was to hide multiple pound ... More >>

Mexican Smugglers Exploit the Corrupt Reputation of U.S. Border Officers

Nogales Smuggling Tunnel Pictures Released; Shaft Ran 70 Feet South From a Home

Image: ICE, HSIThe smuggling tunnel found in Nogales yesterday had internal support structures to guard against cave-in.​ Border authorities shut down a tunnel Tuesday that ran 70 feet from a U.S. home in Nogales, Arizona to Mexico. Pictures just released show the builders of this tunnel, wh ... 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 >>

Chicken Chow Mein from Desert Jade

​Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com.  87: Chicken C ... More >>

Slice of Pepperoni Pizza from Mamma Mia

  Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com.   90: Sli ... More >>

Croissant from Essence Bakery Cafe

That's our fave, on the right. ​Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@ ... More >>

The Sonoran Dog from Nogales Hot Dogs

Erica O'Neil​Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com 96: Th ... More >>

Cloaked Brutality: The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants, But What's Been Unearthed Reveals a Culture of Cruelty

More Than a Ton of Weed Seized and Three Alleged Drug Dealers Arrested in ICE's Latest Big Bust

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement​Do yourself a favor: if you own a white conversion van, don't drive it near Nogales -- especially if you're carting around more than a ton of marijuana.According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, last week, ICE agents saw a white conversion van s ... More >>

76-Year-Old Woman Arrested for Smuggling Cocaine

www.bloodyelbow.com​Typically, senior citizens don't draw too much suspicion from law enforcement, so we're a little shocked to learn that a 76-year-old Mexican woman was arrested for smuggling more than $125,000 worth of cocaine across the U.S./ Mexico border earlier this week.According to offici ... More >>

Nogales Mayor Arrested at City Hall; Indicted on Bribery, Theft, Fraud, and Money Laundering Charges

Arizona Attorney General's OfficeNogales Mayor Octavio Garcia Von Borstel was arrested at the Nogales City Hall this morning.​The 29-year-old mayor of Nogales, and his 59-year-old father, were arrested this morning on multiple charges including bribery, theft, fraud and money laundering.Mayor Octa ... More >>

21 Killed in Gun Battle By Rival Gangs Just South of Nogales; Charred Human Heads Found Hanging Near Cemetary

  ​Just when it seems like smuggling violence can't get any worse comes news of a slaughter just south of Nogales, Mexico: 21 dead, at least six wounded in a massive gun battle. Media outlets are reporting that the skirmish between rival gangs took place Thursday morning on a dirt r ... More >>

July 2 In Blogs: Barry Wong, First Friday, SB 1070, Venezia's Pizzeria, and DPS

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

U.S. Border Patrol Nabs More Than 1,600 Pounds of Weed in One Weekend

www.pollsb.com​U.S. Border Patrol agents in Arizona have been pretty busy in their war-against-weed, nabbing more than 1,600 pounds of the icky in three separate busts last weekend.The first of the weekend's three big busts happened Friday afternoon when agents working at a checkpoint on Hig ... More >>

Fast Food Fish Sandwiches in Fry Girl's Debut Column

​ ​Look, up in the sky! Er, make that behind the wheel of that car over there. It's neither bird nor plane, and it's certainly not that sappy-faced, beef-slinging Wendy character. No, it's Fry Girl! A new column in Phoenix New Times' print edition, where each week we'll bring you revie ... More >>

Mexican National Convicted of Cocaine Smuggling Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison

www.photobucket.com​A Mexican national will be calling America home for a little while longer after being sentenced in a Phoenix federal court to some lengthy prison time for smuggling cocaine into Arizona.David Efrain Flores-Castro, 33, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison today for his ... More >>

Mexico Media Mogul Among Those Indicted in Alleged Crime Ring; Hip-Hop's Swizz Beatz was Close Associate of Suspects

The roundup of alleged crime ring members we told you about on Thursday also snared Mario de la Fuente Manríquez, a Mexican media mogul who owns cable TV companies, a Nogales, Sonora TV station and newspaper. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, and police officials ar ... More >>

A Month of Crazy Hot Dogs at Joe's Farm Grill

For most people I know, hot dogs are usually an occasional indulgence -- maybe a dog with the works and a huge beer at a baseball game, a Nogales dog when the mood strikes, or hot dogs on the grill on a lazy Sunday by the pool. But Joe's Farm Grill has come up with 14 good reasons to eat hot dogs pr ... More >>

Hot Links: Wittmann Standoff, Newsweek, and Drug Tunnels

Following President Obama's decision in April to lift travel restrictions for Cuban-Americans, many Valley residents who have family in Cuba are taking trips to the country. Phoenix has a small but burgeoning Cuban-American community. Most other Americans are still barred from visiting Cuba or purch ... More >>

Swine Flu Arizona: Policy of Closing Maricopa County Schools is Lifted, But 10 Schools Closed in Nogales

The most pressing question about the H1N1 "swine flu" virus now seems to be: Will the thing return this fall and kill millions?Locally, the panic has ratcheted way down, with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health declaring on Saturday that new cases of swine flu would not result in sch ... More >>

Phoenix Phoodies: Nogales Hot Dogs From Pablo Perez

Sloane Burwell Pablo Perez makes the kind of hot dogs people dream about. For the last seven years, he's been introducing Phoenicians to the magic of the Sonoran Style Hot Dog, served out of a cheerful hot dog stand called Nogales Hot Dog #2. You'll find Perez and his assistant seven nights a wee ... More >>

Hot Links: Party Crews, Identity Thieves, and Official Flatulence

Here's some news: teenagers party. But Phoenix police say the parties are getting out of hand, with partygoers forming "crews" and taking over abandoned buildings or setting up in the desert. Police say such bashes can lead to vandalism, assaults, and (surprise!) underage drinking...A thoroughbred h ... More >>

Hot Links: Alleged Hazing at ASU, Free Drinks on US Airways, and Phoenix Gets Stimulated

Officials at Arizona's three public universities warn students to avoid Mexico during spring break, citing high crime rates in border towns like Nogales and Juarez. An ATF spokesman says that most violence doesn't take place at Mexico's popular tourist spots, which, not surprisingly, don't include N ... More >>

Traffic Stop Nets Nearly 200 Pounds of Pot Found Wrapped Like Christmas Presents

A couple driving north toward Tucson the day after Christmas was caught with nearly 200 pounds of marijuana disguised like holiday presents. The Nogales, Arizona, couple were stopped on Interstate 19 for a traffic violation, according to an Arizona Department of Public Safety news release: Insid ... More >>

Hot Links: Large Crowds Expected for Saturday Light Rail Opening; Boy Dies After Insane Bat Attack, 2nd Boy Critical; Get Out Magazine Gets Lost

If you haven't been hiding under a barrel cactus for the last couple of months, you know that tomorrow is the big day for the light rail system. Crowds of up to 200,000 are expected to hail the opening, though some Valley residents remain concerned about the program's cost and safety. One of the tw ... More >>

Organ-icky

Tea for none

Do or Die

For most Mexicans who're flooding our borders, it's a life-or-death choice

Naive Gringo Pill Popped Below Border

Earth to Americans like Ray Lindell: Try abiding by Mexican law when buying a whopping amount of tranquilizers at farmacias. Duh!

Best Mexican Bakery

La Purísima Pasteleria
4425 West Glendale Avenue, Suite 8, Glendale
623-842-1400

Best Selection of Mexican Imports

Mercado Mexico
8212 South Avenida del Yaqui, Guadalupe
480-831-5925

Habla Di, Habla Da, Strife Goes On

Federal ruling in bilingual-education lawsuit goes unheeded by state officials

Dulce Treat

Chance of a Ghost

Bordering on Exploitation

A couple hours from Phoenix, tens of thousands of Mexicans work on maquiladora assembly lines for $1 an hour, making the toys and tools of American convenience. Critics say the maquila system lets U.S. corporations maximize profits on the backs of Third W

What a Wasteland

Home to Las Playitas

A maquila worker's 600-kilometer trek to the farming village where she was born

Hector the Hustler

Maquila Wages, Sans Slums

Inspectors Can Do Little to Stem Tide of Smuggling

Rx Mex

Hazy regulations allow Americanos to write their own tickets in Mexican pharmacies

Drugstore Caballero

Recreational prescription drugs put Mexican farmacias on the map--and American pill seekers on the road

MOUTH OF THE BORDER

SECOND HELPINGS

Pressure Point

WHILE THE BORDER PATROL IS ATTACKING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN CALIFORNIA AND TEXAS, THE AGENCY IS LITERALLY RETREATING IN ARIZONA. THE RESULTS ARE COSTLY AND DANGEROUS.

MINGUS AMONG US

BORN IN NAGALES, BASSIST CHARLES MINGUS SPENT HIS LIFE EXTENDING THE FRONTIERS OF JAZZ. NOW HIS HOMETOWN IS THROWING HIM A 71ST BIRTHDAY PARTY.