Sunday, June 22, 2014

Babeu trumpets capture of drug cartel scouts

Cave
 An AR-15 rifle and multiple radios, food, solar panels and batteries were found stuffed in a cave on an unidentified Pinal County hilltop as part of a months-long investigation by the Pinal County 

Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Border Patrol. Officers searched for Mexican drug cartel scouts who spot and report law enforcement presence in the area to smugglers passing through.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office announced a round of arrests of drug cartel scouts and affiliates after a months-long sting in Pinal County on Monday.
Sheriff Paul Babeu told reporters at a press conference that eight men were arrested over February and March in the operation. Three of those individuals – Francisco Noriega Nuñez, Jose Gambino Ruiz and Jose Aispuro – were sentenced to 21/2 years in prison for one count of conspiracy to possession of marijuana for sale, a class 3 felony. Four remain in custody awaiting trials.

By March 17, Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles had issued an indictment against the seven men. Voyles called this type of prosecution against cartel scouts “rare.”

More @ Copa Monitor

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