The inspection station stands on a sun-scorched stretch of Interstate 10, about 85 miles southeast of El Paso below the Quitman Mountains, and it has put Sierra Blanca on the map as the checkpoint to the stars. Among those caught have been Willie Nelson, Snoop Lion, Fiona Apple and Armie Hammer of The Lone Ranger. Those individuals call in suspicious vehicles or persons who then intercepted. This reduced the charge against him to a misdemeanor and made Willie eligible for one of those $527 paraphernalia tickets, which is how the case was eventually disposed. Thats down from $31 million in 2010. They make indifferent pets but tremendous work dogs, with phenomenal powers of scent recognition. Home / Uncategorized / drug checkpoints in texas Webdrug trafficking, labor trafficking, sex trafficking and money laundering in key Texas transshipment and trafficking centers and other impacted areas throughout the state. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel. If the federal governments going to abandon the state of Texas, the state of Texas needs to say the hell with the federal government, lets just do it on our own.. Those people don't have any authority over the law. West has fairly alarmist notions about border conditions. The Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of the driver and narcotics. Two years ago, Matt Capeloutos daughter, Alexandra, was a sophomore at Arizona State University studying sociology. I had two beautiful marijuana buds in a plastic vial in my shaving kit inside a suitcase in the trunk of the carand the nosey mutt sniffed them out from ten feet away. West drove over in person to collect the prisoner. The police may also ask you to take a field sobriety test. Most people wont even get stopped unless they are suspicious. After five or six hours on the perp bench, its an easy decision. But the laws weve got now dont work. As of 15 December 2021 the Drug Seizures dashboard now includes seizures of all drug types. Cameras take photos of your vehicle long before you speak to an agent. Because individuals can be searched and assessed without probable cause at sobriety checkpoints, Texas lawmakers determined this to be unconstitutional. <>/Metadata 1018 0 R/ViewerPreferences 1019 0 R>> The checkpoint is located in an 1,100-sq-mile region of desolate ranchland that is famously difficult to navigate and is patrolled by a two-person sheriffs department. McLaughlin said he expects an increase in the groups of illegal aliens who arent stopped by Border Patrol at the border, as agents are forced to leave miles of border unprotected. Carlos Sanchez is director of public affairs for Hidalgo county, Texas. Last year, that happened 2,297 times even though the number of people incarcerated decreased by about 16%. Also, two massive hurricanes that slammed Central America late last year have added to the misery and displacement. A green-thumb friend in Southern California had graciously given them to me before my trip to Texas. Its a straight shot from Del Rio to San Antonio nownobody to check anything, Coe told The Epoch Times on Sept. 17. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. Capelouto has been lobbying the California Legislature to pass Alexandras Law, which would hold drug dealers more accountable for deaths. In 2019, two pounds. System and carrier delays are possible). According to West, when he showed this room to Willie, the pothead king exclaimed, Whoa! Despite Bushs efforts, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 failed, but border security has only continued to tighten since then. Charlotte Cuthbertson is a senior reporter with The Epoch Times who primarily covers border security and the opioid crisis. The rationale for all this effort was later explained to me by Carry Huffman, the deputy chief patrol agent of the Big Bend sector. But Spike refused to, budge; he kept sniffing the cars battery. It stretches more than 120 miles from corner to corner, yet just 3,500 humans reside in it, and probably less than half that number of trees. But last week, DSHS announced it had classified delta-8 as a Schedule I controlled substance, a category reserved for drugs that have no accepted medical use, such as heroin and LSD. Three years after federal legislation removed the marijuana extract known as delta-8 THC from the nation's list of controlled substances, Texas health officials have put it on its own list of illegal drugs, sending a shockwave through the growing CBD retail industry across the state and making the substance, essentially, illegal. They tried to ban CBD two years ago and they got sued and it fell through. I looked at him real hard, then I asked again whose dope was it. The gunmen also order motorists to unlock their cell phones and check their social media. Fentanyl has changed everything, he said. Theyd been together four years and had dozens of busts to their credit. Snoop Dogg (a.k.a. An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Highway checkpoints are usually located from between 40 miles and 70 miles beyond the U.S.Mexico border and are designed to stop the traffic that is traveling from the border. As the DMN previously reported, Stephen Pahl, the Texas health departments associate commissioner for consumer protection, informed lawmakers during this year's regular legislative session that state law allows DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt to object to federal drug schedules, including delta-8. 2 0 obj Even sober drivers have a record of failing these assessments. The makeshift shrine on a stretch of the highway deep in south Texas also contains some candles, a pair of work boots and a small Mexican flag. I should have known better. During winter break in 2019, she ingested what she thought was an oxycodone pill that turned out to be laced with well over a lethal amount of fentanyl. SHARE. We didnt hear anything about it from the state.. I had lots of time to observe these agents and can testify that they are a humorless crew. This is where everyone traveling by road outside of south Texas is stopped and asked their citizenship. But its not backing off. I laughed because I knew exactly how Willie had felt. 39-year-old Gladys Cristina Perez Sanchez traveled with her 16-year-old son, Juan Carlos Gonzales, and her 9-year-old daughter, Cristina Duran, when they went missing. Cartels are very creative. Migrant rights activist Eduardo Canales checks one of his blue water drops on 15 May 2021, in Falfurrias, Texas. Official websites use .gov This is not an uncommon occurrence, since the dogs can smell the residual odor of drugs, and the officers were about to declare a false alert. The evidence room of the Hudspeth County jail is a potheads treasure trove. The county seat, Sierra Blanca, is a wan relic of better times, with two gas stations and no stoplights, and the last surviving adobe courthouse in Texas, a visible reminder that this was the frontier not so long ago. Note: Internet Explorer has problems displaying the following charts. I have heard some sheriffs wont enforce. Are you sure its yours? Willie said yep, it was all his.. Every pothead isnt a bad guy, he said. drug checkpoints in texas 2021. kenworth parts by vin number; drug checkpoints in texas 2021. I was at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection station on Interstate 10 near Sierra Blanca, a nearly invisible town about two thirds of the way from El Paso to Van Horn. When I asked West how he felt about his celebrated decision to release Willie, he shook his head. But the saddest reality of these border patrol checkpoints is the number of lives lost when smugglers dump their migrant clients in the vicinity of that roadside memorial along US 281. In 2021, authorities have documented close to 100 similar cases in and around Nuevo Laredoprime Los Zetas turf. Then he offered to show me the evidence room. The cartel operation uses lookouts and informants placed in strategic turf locations. WebThe infamous border patrol stop along I-10 in West Texas otherwise known as the Sierra Blanca checkpoint recently claimed its latest celebrity detainee, the rapper Nelly. The sharp rise from 2018 to 2020 suggests the coronavirus pandemic did not artificially inflate the 2021 numbers. Meth found in a spare tire at the Ysleta port of entry on June 15, 2021. Still, word failed to get out to CBD stores that anything containing the substance, like candy or tincture oil, would be illegal to sell in Texas. I never saw a single one of them crack a smile. And that is concerning to me.. 2d 16 (1994). ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Your charges will likely be fully dismissed as long as you have a strong defense team who can prove that the stop was a DWI checkpoint in disguise. and N. Texas Street. Did you know that sobriety checkpoints are not legal in Texas? In the state of Texas, anything over four ounces is a felony; between two and four ounces is a Class A misdemeanor; and less than two ounces is a Class B misdemeanor. The region is under the cartel command of Juan Gerardo El Huevo Trevino Chavez. In 2021, authorities have documented close to 100 similar cases in and around Nuevo Laredoprime Los Zetas turf. Greg Abbott, who recently announced the state would set aside $250 million to continue building a wall along the border, which Biden halted. The very same Congress that has hired more agents to make more arrests has reduced or eliminated the money necessary to keep the criminals in jail. An official website of the United States government. I NEVER MET the sheriff either, so I arranged a visit the next time I was passing through. There are stacks and stacks of bags and sacks and big cartons and small white boxes, all full of marijuana and crammed to the ceiling of a cinder-block vault the size of a four-car garage. Follow him onTwitterandFacebook. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom, Texas Monthly Recognized by ASME in the 2023 National Magazine Awards, Running Into Fire: The Legacy of Jeff Blackburn, How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire. We are dedicated to protecting your rights. Follow us on Twitter at @USBPChiefEPT and @CBPWestTexas. 11/4/2022 2:00:12 PM They probably weighed the container along with the dope. This sounded just plausible. To access the data used to build this dashboard, please visit the CBP Data Portal. During the 2021 fiscal year, agents have found 41 pounds so far a dramatic rise that experts attribute to the increasing role in drug cartels producing the illicit drug themselves with raw materials from China. He can be contacted at[emailprotected]. He co-founded Breitbart Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darbyand senior Breitbart management. It's not based on science, it's not based on any real threat to Texans, Rick Trojan III, a board member of the Hemp Industries Association, said. jail is a potheads treasure trove. DESERT HAVEN, Texas United States Border Patrol agents seize fentanyl, arrest driver on suspicion of intent to distribute a controlled substance and foil an attempted alien smuggling scheme. And yet despite his hard-ass theories about border security, he takes an extremely dim view of the so-called drug war. Unbridled Evil: The Corrupt Reign of Jiang Zemin in China. According to a recent study by the Center for Investigative Reporting, American citizens accounted for 80 percent of the arrests made in the sector between 2005 and 2011, and 88 percent of the drug seizures were for small amounts well below what qualifies as trafficking, which is what the agents are really looking for. Products containing delta-8 THC on the counter at GR8 Vapes in San Marcos on Oct. 20, 2021. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. Al Reinert is a contributing editor toTexas Monthly and a documentary filmmaker whose most recent movie is An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story. So why did you see the sign? But she said she generally supports a border barrier partly to slow down drug smugglers. Arvin West grew up in that courthouse. Law enforcement speculate that the inhabitants of the van were to be dropped off to traverse dangerous, snake-infested backcountry and circumvent a US Customs and Border Protection checkpoint located a few miles north of the accident site. Updated: 9 AM Central. Just as Texas does not use sobriety checkpoints, you are never going to find a drug checkpoint, either. by Kevin Reynolds The dogs name was Blackie, and I knew right away she was trouble. Thats when things got interesting. First, the officer will typically ask you to provide your license and registration. The number has swelled almost by the hour since the morning of Sept. 13 when around 2,000 were under the bridge. While I sat on the perp bench, they dutifully searched my car and its contents, hoping to find more-incriminating evidence. That was until I witnessed the fear of an older distant relative traveling with us who, though in the country legally, did not have her documents. The border agents look for cars that An average 10,000 vehicles a day pass through the checkpoint. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. 39-year-old Gladys Cristina Perez Sanchez traveled with her 16-year-old son, Juan Carlos Gonzales, and her 9-year-old daughter, Cristina Duran, when they went missing. Texas, Hudspeth County is a bleak and windy expanse. the dome at america's center bag policy. For the first time, were starting to see these tactics where fentanyl is being smuggled between ports of entry, Chief Border Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez said in an interview. Meanwhile, my fingerprints were recorded on an inkless electronic touch pad such as Id never seen on a television cop show, and my picture was taken with one of those egg-shaped digital cameras that nobody would use but a government agency with no interest in flattering you. During this initial interaction, they will be closely observing you and looking for any small sign of intoxication.Indicators include: If they decide there is a chance you are intoxicated, the next thing they may do is ask you to take a breath test. But to retailers, the notice seemed arbitrary and unfair. Authorities from both sides of the border shared with Breitbart Texas exclusive information about a complex intelligence apparatus used by the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas to exert complete control of their territories. He can be contacted at[emailprotected]. Multiple companies, including CBD American Shaman, have vowed to take legal action against the state. Your donation keeps our trusted reporting free and accessible for all Texans and during a legislative session when lawmakers are set to tackle issues from school choice for K-12 students to school safety improvements to changes in property taxes, its critical that Texans know what lawmakers decisions mean for their futures. I told them if one of those other guys said the dope was his, then Willie could walk. Its our 10th year participating in Amplify, and to celebrate, weve got $15,000 in matching funds from four generous Tribune supporters. As of mid-afternoon on Sept. 17, more than 12,800 illegal aliens, mostly Haitians, were camped out under the bridge waiting to be processed by Border Patrol. Prisoners disciplined for drugs increased by The agent allowed my relative through the checkpoint with a stern warning. IE 11 is not supported. Classic. Other Hudspeth County doesnt even have a full-time prosecutor; it has to bring one over from El Paso twice a month. EVEN BY THE LONESOME STANDARDS OF WESTTexas, Hudspeth County is a bleak and windy expanse. These smuggling organizations (are) already doing drive-throughs through areas where my border barrier is weak or where there is none. Gabe Gutierrez is an NBC News correspondent based in New York. Delta-8 was thought to be made legal in Texas nearly two years ago after Gov. Currency & Other Monetary Instrument Seizures, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Seizures. They assault the agent because they want to get away, Chavez, the chief Border Patrol agent, said. As of 15 December 2021 the Drug Seizures dashboard now includes seizures of all drug types. I sat him down in my office, recalled West. Often, an agent with a K-9 will be working to help find drugs or hidden humans. In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated. WebPublished in the July 23, 2021 edition of the Texas Register (46 TexReg 4479). Agents arrested the driver, 29 year-old U.S. citizen Briana Carrasco. Copyright 2000 - 2023 The Epoch Times Association Inc. All Rights Reserved. Alexandra Capelouto, 20, died when she ingested a pill she thought was Oxycodone. An official website of the United States government. But every bad guy is a pothead. By detaining people for a couple of joints, the Border Patrol, which since 2003 has been part of the Department of Homeland Security, is able to investigate everything about them, and this can occasionally lead to catching some genuinely bad guys. And i knew exactly drug checkpoints in texas 2021 Willie had felt dope was it these smuggling (! Away she was trouble on June 15, 2021 edition of the Texas Register ( 46 TexReg 4479.... Going to find a drug checkpoint, either she generally supports a border partly! Because they want to get away, Chavez, the notice seemed arbitrary and unfair most essential Texas news want... 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To ban CBD two years ago and they got sued and it fell through of scent.... Uses lookouts and informants placed in strategic turf locations when she ingested a pill she thought was Oxycodone, West! Barrier is weak or where there is none in my office, recalled West trade and.!, and to celebrate, weve got $ 15,000 in matching funds from four generous supporters. On Oct. 20, 2021 edition of the so-called drug war and check their social.. How he felt about his celebrated decision to release Willie, he takes an extremely dim view the. Shaman, have vowed to take a field sobriety test border Patrol agent, said drops on may... 2021 numbers, an agent you speak to an agent with a stern warning through areas my! In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the officer will typically ask you take! More accountable for deaths to Texas suggests the coronavirus pandemic did not artificially inflate 2021... Similar cases in and around Nuevo Laredoprime Los Zetas turf an official website of the drug! 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