Smuggling Attempts Foiled

North Carolina man arrested in drug smuggling attempt - elsewhere smugglers using semi-submersible boat

August 23, 2007

WAKE COUNTY NC NEWS -- In El Paso, Texas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents arrested 37-year-old Eliverto Piedra Rincon, a Mexican citizen who resides in Raleigh, North Carolina in connection with a failed drug smuggling attempt.

During anti-terror inspections, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 10.9 pounds of heroin Monday at the Paso Del Norte crossing in downtown El Paso, Texas. The seizure is one of the largest in recent history at the El Paso port and almost equals the entire quantity seized by CBP officers in the whole fiscal year of 2005.

The heroin seizure was made just after 10 a.m. when a 1994 Buick LeSabre entered the facility from Mexico. A CBP officer at the primary inspection booth selected the vehicle for an intensive inspection because the driver was nervous during routine questioning. Using a CBP drug detector dog named "Bo" to assist in the inspection, the dog alerted CBP officers to the existence of drugs in the dashboard area of the car. Continued inspection, led to the discovery of 14 heroin-filled bundles, just under 11 pounds, in the car.

CBP officers working at border ports of entry in El Paso, West Texas and New Mexico had seized 22 pounds of heroin through the first nine months of fiscal year excluding Monday's seizure. During fiscal year 2006, they seized 34.5 pounds of heroin and they seized 11.1 pounds of the drug during fiscal year 2005.

Elsewhere in the United States, a Jacksonville, Florida-based U.S. Customs and Border Protection P-3 Orion aircraft participated in an operation on Sunday in the Eastern Pacific Ocean with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. The P-3 Orion aircraft crew located, tracked and coordinated the interdiction of a semi-submersible boat loaded with approximately 5 metric tons of cocaine. The cocaine is estimated to have a $352 million black market value. In addition, four suspected smugglers were taken into custody and the exact amount of cocaine seized has not been determined.

The P-3 aircraft was patrolling in the Eastern Pacific when the crew spotted the semi-submersible boat approximately 300 miles southwest of the Mexico-Guatemala border. The CBP's surveillance aircraft then tracked the semi-submerged smuggling vessel while guiding the USS DeWert to the scene as the suspects scuttled the vessel along with the majority of the contraband aboard. As the Coast Guard and Navy boarding team approached the vessel to rescue the crew 11 bales of cocaine bobbed to the surface. U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement made the arrests and seized 11 bales of cocaine. The craft designed to avoid detection, estimated to be about 50 feet in length, was quickly abandoned by its crew and sank a short time later.

Commenting on the interdiction, Rear Admiral Craig Bone, Commander of the 11th Coast Guard District and tactical commander of U.S. counter drug operations in the Eastern Pacific said, "This case shows the challenges our counter-drug patrol forces face, and the lengths to which the drug smuggling organization will go to get their deadly product to the U.S. This low-profile semi-submersible craft was very difficult to detect. I commend the work of the surveillance aircraft crew and the quick actions of the rescue and boarding team for saving the suspects and collecting evidence."

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Air and Marine operates a P-3 aircraft fleet from Corpus Christi, Texas and Jacksonville providing Transit Zone surveillance operations. The P-3 Operations Center-Jacksonville, based at Cecil Field, has coordinated more than 32 metric tons of cocaine busts this fiscal year worth $ 2.2 billion.

In conclusion, anti-terrorism has become the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in traditional border-related responsibilities. Traditional border-related responsibilities include narcotics interdiction such as the smuggling of heroin and cocaine, enforcing immigration law, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security.

Published by:
Rob Cross
mailto:editor@357news.com

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