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Drug Tunnel Found

drug tunnel

Marijuana Seized From Drug Tunnel

A ton of cocaine and seven tons of marijuana were seized from a cross-border tunnel that stretched from a Tijuana, Mexico, home to a San Diego, California, suburb, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.

“We believe this to be the longest tunnel that we have discovered in this district to date,” said Laura Duffy, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.

Half-Mile Tunnel Found on US-Mexico Border, Cocaine Seized

Authorities arrested six people and seized more than 2,000 pounds of cocaine and more than 14,000 pounds of marijuana. The cocaine is valued at around $22 million.

“We believe this to be the largest single seizure of cocaine related to a tunnel in the California-Mexico border,” Duffy said.

At about 3-feet wide, the tunnel measured the length of more than eight football fields (nearly a half-mile) and was equipped with lights, ventilation, a rail system and a motorized freight elevator capable of carrying up to 10 people, according to federal officials.

The six arrested in San Diego were charged with various drug trafficking and tunnel-related charges, including conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and conspiracy to use a border tunnel.

Authorities said there have been more than a dozen secret passages found along California’s border with Mexico since 2006.

In the past five years, federal authorities have detected more than 75 cross-border smuggling tunnels, most of them in California and Arizona.

part 2

OTAY MESA, Calif. – A new drug tunnel was discovered at an Otay Mesa outdoor wood pallet storage facility Tuesday, marking the third such discovery in a month.

Border Patrol agents were seen standing outside the fenced-off Otay Pallets business lot on Marconi Drive, about 1000 feet from the Tijuana-San Diego border.

In Tijuana, federal officers were guarding a house east of the Tijuana airport in an area known as colonia Nueva Tijuana.

That is said to be the south point of the tunnel.

Authorities from the US Attorney’s Office would not comment on the investigation Tuesday afternoon although they’ve called for a news conference on Wednesday at the site.

One man who works in the area said he recently became suspicious of the pallet operation, which had been open for about a year.

“Once I saw them put up cameras inside I knew something was going on,” said the man who did not want to be identified.

He also said he believes agents found the tunnel on Sunday.

“They were here last night and the night before, I came in and was like what’s going on and they said they shut everything down.”

Last Friday, a cross-border tunnel was discovered near Calexico by an El Centro Sector Border Patrol agent who was conducting routine patrol duties, CBP agent stated.  The agent noticed a depression in the soil along the banks of the All-American Canal, exposing an 18-inch hole with lumber and electrical wiring inside, according to the release.

Drug tunnel found at warehouse in Otay Mesa.

About four weeks ago, four people were arrestedafter Border Patrol agents located an alleged secret drug tunnel underneath a three-bedroom house in Calexico, authorities said. The tunnel’s entrance was inside a restaurant in Mexicali, Mexico.

 

 

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Arizona Drug Smuggle

Arizona Drug Smuggle

Arizona Man Arrested for Drug Smuggle Bust

 

DOUGLAS – Two Arizona men were caught attempting to smuggle thousands of dollars of marijuana near Tucson.

Customs and Border Protection officials arrested a 65-year-old Douglas man who attempted to sneak marijuana taped underneath his arms.

The 65-year-old Arizona man reportedly had more than three pounds of marijuana underneath his armpits, worth $1,600.

A 32-year-old Phoenix man was also arrested at the Douglas border crossing after he was found with 114 pounds of marijuana in the quarter panels and fuel tank of his vehicle.

The drugs were worth around $57,000.

Both men were turned over to officials and the evidence was seized

part 2

Arizona officials have arrested 76 people suspected in the smuggling of at least $2 billion worth of drugs through the state’s western desert in coordination with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.

“We in Arizona continue to stand and fight the Mexican drug cartels, who think they own the place,” Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said in a statement about the investigation, dubbed Operation Pipeline Express.

“While this is a historic drug bust, sadly this represents only a fraction of what my deputies face every day,” Babeu said.

The arrests were made during a series of recent raids.

Officials said the ring, based in Chandler, Stanfield and Maricopa, used backpackers and trucks to move drugs from the border to a network of stash houses in the Phoenix area. After arriving in Phoenix, the smugglers sold the drugs, which included marijuana, cocaine and heroin, to distributors from various states.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the  smugglers succeeded at first because they had established control over an 80-mile stretch of the border from Yuma to Sells, Ariz.

“They had gained a virtual monopoly over a swath of the Arizona border,” she said.

Kice said investigators believe some of those arrested are U.S.-based bosses in the Sinaloa cartel.

“Through our joint efforts, we’ve sent a resounding message to the Mexican cartels that Arizona is off limits to their operatives,” Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in Arizona, said in a statement.

Officials posted video from the investigation online, including surveillance video of trucks being loaded and driven down desert roads, Border Patrol officers inspecting a roofing truck packed with large bricks of marijuana, and sheriff’s teams making arrests during nighttime raids.

The 17-month investigation, which began with a traffic stop by Pinal County sheriff’s deputies, included three “large-scale enforcement actions”: one last week, another earlier this month and a third last month, according to ICE.

During last week’s raids, authorities seized more than 2 tons of marijuana, 19 weapons and nearly $200,000 in cash, the agency said. It estimates that the drug ring smuggled more than 3.3 million pounds of marijuana, 20,000 pounds of cocaine and 10,000 pounds of heroin into the United States during the last five years.

 

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Medical Marijuana in Phoenix

recreational marijuana

Medical Marijuana Concerns in Phoenix

Medical-marijuana facilities may soon have fewer options of where to open in Phoenix, through zoning changes the city is considering in advance of a possible statewide vote to make recreational use of the drug legal. Wochit

Medical-marijuana facilities may soon have fewer options of where to open in Phoenix, through zoning changes the city is considering in advance of a possible statewide vote to make recreational use of the drug legal.

The city’s planning and development department is proposing stricter regulations for new dispensaries, cultivation sites and infusion facilities. Industry advocates say the changes would make it even more difficult to find locations where they could operate. 

New medical-marijuana sites would have to be farther from places of worship and residential areas, if the changes are approved. They also would have to follow new requirements on their distance from day-care centers, homeless shelters and youth community centers.

The proposed changes are driven in part by the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act that could go to voters in November, Planning and Development Director Alan Stephenson said. The initiative would allow adults 21 and older to buy, grow and possess marijuana — which would be taxed — with certain restrictions.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is still collecting voter signatures to qualify the initiative for the November election.

Phoenix would draft new zoning requirements for recreational uses if the act is passed by voters. But existing medical-marijuana dispensaries would have the right to operate as recreational dispensaries, as the initiative is written now.

That means Phoenix needs to prepare, Stephenson said. The city’s Planning Commission will consider the stricter zoning rules April 7, with a possible vote by the City Council later this month.

“We need to be a little more cautious in how we treat these things,” Stephenson said.

Medical marijuana in Phoenix

 Ryan Lewis of one the employee of Mohave Green’s Choice Cannabis indoor grow operation, located at undisclosed location in Mohave Valley a spans 14,000 square feet across two levels. He also has rooms for trimming, harvesting and packaging. He said his operation can produce about 2,500 pounds each year. Nick Oza/The Republic

Effects on neighborhoods a big concern

City Council members have asked staff to move swiftly on drafting tougher regulations.

Several have raised concerns about how the legalization of recreational marijuana would affect Phoenix neighborhoods, and said the city should be prepared for the initiative to pass.

The city has more than a dozen medical-marijuana dispensaries. Many dispensaries in other parts of the state can now relocate, driving requests for more.

When state voters passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act in 2010, dispensaries were limited to one per geographic region— called Community Health Analysis Areas — as designated by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Dense cities like Phoenix have more analysis areas than other parts of the state.

Dispensaries are allowed to locate anywhere in the state after three years of operation, with most now meeting that requirement.

part 2

New medical-marijuana facilities will lose some options of where they can locate in Phoenix, under stricter rules approved by the City Council on Wednesday.

Dispensaries, as well as cultivation and infusion businesses, will have to find sites farther away from residential areas and places of worship than previously required by the city.

Phoenix also added day-care centers, homeless shelters and youth community centers to the list of places a facility must be at least a quarter-mile from.

The City Council voted 8-0 to pass the new regulations with an emergency clause, making them effective immediately. Councilman Sal DiCiccio did not vote.

The changes moved swiftly through the city process as Phoenix prepares for the possible legalization of recreational marijuana through a statewide voter initiative. Updates to the state’s medical-marijuana program mean additional dispensaries could look to locate in the city soon.

 

Council members denied a Planning Commission amendment to allow cultivation and infusion facilities — where marijuana is processed for products like edible goods — to open closer together, a request of industry leaders. Several city leaders asked if the new regulations could be tougher than those proposed.

The changes will reduce the acreage available for dispensaries from 4.1 percent of the city to 2.3 percent, according to a staff report. For cultivation and infusion facilities, that percentage drops from 13 percent to 11 percent.

“I wish I could do more, but our hands are a little tied,” Councilman Jim Waring said.

New rules as strict as possible

Council members voiced particular concern over the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act that could go to voters in November. If passed, the initiative would legalize recreational use of the drug.

The city would draft new zoning regulations, but existing medical-marijuana dispensaries would be allowed to open as recreational facilities. Waring said he expects to receive neighborhood complaints if that happens.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen to you,” he said.

And the city could see more medical-marijuana dispensary applications soon, said Alan Stephenson, director of the Planning and Development Department.

Dispensaries originally confined to other parts of the state can move after three years of operation. That now includes many of the first dispensaries opened after state voters passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act in 2010.

Phoenix also expects the state to release additional dispensary certificates this summer, Stephenson said.

Stephenson said the new rules are as strict as they can be while still allowing medical-marijuana facilities to legally locate within the city. Even tougher regulations could be hard for the city to defend in the case of a lawsuit, he said.

“We can’t use our zoning authority to say, ‘We don’t want those,’ ” Stephenson said.

The changes do not affect facilities already in operation.

Under the new rules, a medical-marijuana facility will have to be 1,320 feet from a place of worship instead of the previous 500 feet. The distance from residential areas doubles from 250 to 500 feet for dispensaries.

The 1,320-foot distance requirement already in place for schools and public parks will apply for day-care centers, homeless shelters and youth community centers.

Dispensaries, cultivation sites and infusion facilities must maintain a one-mile distance from one another. The Planning Commission proposed reducing that to one-third of a mile, based on medical-marijuana industry input.

Demitri Downing, who represents the industry, advocated for that change at the meeting. Landlords are looking to rent out buildings in industrial areas, and the sites have no neighborhood impact, he said.

“You’re encouraging the jobs to go elsewhere,” Downing said of the denial.

Councilwoman Kate Gallego said she foresees the city’s planning decisions to evolve from Wednesday’s vote.

“I am confident we do not have the perfect answers today,” she said.

 

 

 

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Apartment Complex Bans Medical Marijuana

Plans to Legalize Marijuana in Arizona

Marijuana facilities are popping up everywhere. New laws are being passed daily to make this possible, which a lot of people are thankful for.

A new proposal has been placed so that they can legalize marijuana in Arizona. According to the reports, the proposal is right on track and is most likely to qualify for the ballot since the state joins the ever growing movement to loosen up on the marijuana laws around the country in the elections.

One of the spokes people for the Arizona’s leading recreational marijuana imitative says that things are looking good. The movement has already gotten 140,000 out of the required 150,000 that are needed to be on the ballot.

The campaign is shooting to get even more than the required number of signatures so they can have back up signatures for any that might/ will get disqualified. The campaign will be trying hard until their July deadline to get all of the signatures.

 

Marijuana Policy Project’s Arizona Director, Carlos Alfara Statement:

We are riding the wave of public opinion that prefers regulation and taxation rather than criminalization and prohibition.
According to recent studies, Arizona is one of nine states that have pending recreational marijuana initiatives this year. Some of the others are California, Massachusetts, Main, and Nevada.
According to the The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, it would allow people who are over the age of twenty-one to carry up to one ounce of marijuana on them. They could grow up to six plants and even carry up to five grams of “concentrated marijuana”. That concentrated marijuana could be hash oil or a variety of other different cannabis extracts.
 It would also help the stated by establishing a state licensing agency for marijuana, by placing a 15% tax on marijuana and related products. That means that eighty percent of the tax proceeds would go towards education and twenty percent would be set aside for the Department of Health Services.

People Protest Pot Bill

 

Of course, with anything now days there always has to be some sort of fight or protest. An alliance has now been formed to oppose the measure that the Maricopa County has been working so hard for.  Bill Montgomery who is an attorney with Maricopa County have stepped forward and came out against the bill and it’s plan.

 Montgomery is opposed to drug legalization. He thinks that the way that the measure is written that it will allow current medical marijuana dispensaries to essentially have a monopoly over the pot sales in the state.  So, technically he’s just worried about the bottom dollar.
This new initiative would allow the state to be able to issued around 150 licenses for businesses to sell marijuana. Which looks like that wold help any state with the tax recovery the would make on it. Of course, the medical pot dispensaries will have the first dibs on the 120 licenses which would only leave a little amount left for anyone else.

 Montgomery’s Statement:

 This is the 21st-century way that one drug dealer keeps another drug dealer off their corner. This is an absolute abuse of the initiative process by a special interest group in Arizona.
Jason Medar, who is a manager for a competing initiative says that the Marijuana Policy Prospect’s proposal doesn’t even offer consumer protections. Medar’s initiative is known as the Campaign to Legalize and Regulate Marijuana. Medar believes that he’s going to make easier for those people who are not already in the medical marijuana industrious to get a license. The initiative is doing well, with around 70,000 signatures so far.
Alfaro doesn’t think that every medical marijuana dispensary will apply for a recreational license. Which makes sense, some dispensaries might just keep things medical use only. Alfaro’s campaign will offer a more balanced approach to legalization.

Alfaro’s Statement:

Not only do we think this is going to be on the ballot but it’s the most viable policy we have. We have had prohibition since 1937. We have to start at a point that people are willing to accept.
Diane Douglas who is the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, denounced that the imitative in a press release just last week. She believes that it would cause a great contradiction for teachers who try to teach the students not to use drugs as well as other ethics.

Douglas’s Statement:

By using drug money to educate our children, regardless of the drug we choose, we’re creating a world where we’re funding our schools by betting against the people graduating from them, and I cannot morally support that stance.
She could be right. The thing is we’ll never know until we try some new things. I personally thing this would be great for twenty-one year old and older because they’re old enough to make their own decisions. but this would definitely help a lot of states who are in finical trouble.

 

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New Bill To Legalize Marijuana Use in Arizona

drug tunnel

New Bill Makes It Legal to Use Marijuana in Arizona

 

Times are changing. Some things for the better, some things for the worse. You can be the judge of what’s good or bad. A state representative has now introduced a new bill that would make it legal the recreation use of marijuana in Arizona.

 

The new bill, House Bill 2007, will allow anyone who is o twenty-one or older to legally possess an ounce or less of marijuana.

 

If you are twenty-one or older, you could even legally grow at most five marijuana plants. You could even exchange an ounce of marijuana between people as long as your of age. However, you can not sale it.  There is going to be a tax of $50 that would be levied on every ounce that is transferred from a grow facility to a retail store.

 

Marijuana Bill Taxes Sales of Marijuana

Of course taxing things helps the state, fifty percent of the tax would actually go into Arizona’s “general” fund. Thirty percent of the tax would go towards the education and the rest of the tax would go to public health and education programs.

 

If you’re not a fan of marijuana, good news for you. Public smoking would still be banned on Marijuana use.

 

 Richard Baker (Who uses Marijuana for Medical Reason’s) Statement:

All these kids are doing to get it, and then what’s going to happen? We’re going to have a bunch of flunkies.

 

While Mr. Baker has to use the drug for rheumatoid arthritis, he knows first hand the negative side effects of marijuana. He says that marijuana has dulled his memory.

 

Stev-0’s Statement about Taxing Marijuana

I think it costs us more to try to stop it than what it would actually cost to allow it to be legal.

 

Stev-O admitted to using Marijuana for de-stressing and sporadic pains.

 

Right now the only place recreational use of marijuana is in Colorado and Washington State.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-northern-az/other/bill-would-legalize-recreational-marijuana-in-arizona

 

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Two People Dead After Double Shooting in Laveen

Two People Dead After Double Shooting in Laveen

Double Shooting in Laveen Kills Two People

 

According to local police, two people are now dead after a double shooting in the Laveen area on Thursday afternoon.  According to the report, the shooting happened around two,fifty in the afternoon. It happened close to the 55th Lane and Euclid Avenue.

 

Jonathan Howard who is a Phoenix Police Sgt. stated that the officers arrived to the scene and they then found one of the shooting victims was shot in the street.  Police said that the man wasn’t cooperative at first, however he did point out the house to the authorities and that is where they found a body of a second shooting victim inside of the doorway. The second victim had been shot several times.

 

A news video showed that the garage of the home, had some pretty significant damage. Police also believe that the suspect had crashed through the garage door when he tried to flee the scene.

 

There is no definite suspect description at this time. Police, however are looking for a red truck that has visible damage.

 

Police Think Double Shooting is Drug Related

 

The police have stated that even though the investigation process is still pretty early, there have been indications that the double shooting is a drug related crime. Police also believe that a family of “squatters” had been staying at the home and using it as a stash house to hide their drugs.

 

Both of the shooting victims have not been identified at this time. One of the victims is a Hispanic male and an adult Black male.

 

Police are asking that if anyone has any information about this double shooting, drug crime, please call the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6141 or the Silent Witness program at 480-948-6377.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/south-phoenix/phoenix-police-investigating-deadly-double-shooting

 

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