Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents recently joined Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel and Mexico’s Federal Police Force to thwart an illicit scouting network on the border.
The four-day operation yielded the seizure of more than 250 pounds of narcotics, assault weapons, and communication equipment from criminal networks.
“Binational collaboration is crucial in ensuring the safety for communities on both side of the border,” Roy Villareal, Tucson Sector chief patrol agent, said. “The disruption of endeavors by dangerous criminal organizations who profit from the misery of others will always one of the enforcement goals of Tucson Sector.”
The effort involved Mexican authorities raiding elevated mountain scout sites used by human and narcotic smugglers south of the international boundary, per authorities, while Border Patrol Foreign Operations Branch and Special Operations Detachment units provided surveillance from the U.S. side during the operation.
In addition to Policia Federal helicopter units in Mexico discovering and destroying a poppy field near the International Border believed to be used for opioid production by the same illicit criminal organizations targeted during the raid, 19 smugglers, including six Honduran nationals linked to criminal organizations, were arrested.