More than 33,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $468 million was offloaded by the U.S. Coast Guard Tuesday in San Diego.

Officials say the drugs were seized through eight separate smuggling vessel interdictions in February and March of this year.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro, which offloaded the cocaine on Tuesday, seized the drugs from vessels off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America.

Rear Admiral Andrew Sugimoto, commander of Coast Guard District 11, said in a statement, “I am extremely proud of this crew and their dedication to disrupting organized crime in the Eastern Pacific. The effort put in while interdicting more than 33,000 lbs of cocaine in a few weeks’ time is unparalleled.”

The seizures took place on:

• Feb. 21, 3,946 lbs of cocaine seized
• Feb. 24, 3,803 lbs of cocaine seized
• Feb. 26, 3,108 lbs of cocaine seized
• March 10, 4,709 lbs of cocaine seized
• March 17, 7,852 lbs of cocaine seized
• March 18, 2,841 lbs of cocaine seized
• March 18, 2,841 lbs of cocaine seized
• March 23, 4,784 lbs of cocaine seized

“The crew put in an incredible amount of work over very long hours, and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” said Capt. Rula Deisher, Coast Guard Cutter Munro’s commanding officer. “Their dedication and grit goes to show that Munro is one of the best national security cutters in the fleet, and we are committed to keeping the country safe by stopping illegal drugs before they hit the street.”

City News Service contributed to this article.

Mexico this weekend extradited to the U.S. Nestor Isidro Perez Salas, or “El Nini,” who headed security for the sons of ex-Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, one of the highest profile extraditions in recent years.

Seen by U.S. anti-narcotics agents as among the most ruthless Mexican drug figures, Perez was detained in November by the Mexican National Guard in the northwestern city of Culiacan, the Sinaloa Cartel’s heartland.

“We allege El Nini was one of the Sinaloa Cartel’s lead sicarios, or assassins, and was responsible for the murder, torture, and kidnapping of rivals and witnesses who threatened the cartel’s criminal drug trafficking enterprise,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

President Joe Biden thanked Mexico for cooperating.

“Our governments will continue to work together to attack the fentanyl and synthetic drug epidemic that is killing so many people in our homelands and globally, and to bring to justice the criminals and organizations producing, smuggling, and selling these lethal poisons in both of our countries,” Biden said in a statement.

The U.S. has accused Perez of leading the “Ninis,” a violent group of security personnel working for Ivan Archivaldo Guzman and other sons of jailed former Sinaloa kingpin, El Chapo.

Ivan and three other sons of El Chapo have become some of the most wanted targets for U.S. law enforcement since they emerged from their father’s shadow to head a powerful faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as “Los Chapitos.” The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration alleges Los Chapitos are the biggest fentanyl traffickers to the U.S.

Perez is one of the highest-profile extraditions during the presidency of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who assumed power in December 2018.

DEA chief Anne Milgram sent an internal memo to agency staff praising the extradition.

Milgram, in the memo reviewed by Reuters, described Perez’s Ninis outfit as a violent group that receives military-style training and is tasked with “kidnapping, torturing and killing anyone who oppose the Chapitos or anyone who endangers the Chapitos’ fentanyl operation.”

U.S. courts have indicted Perez on a slew of charges in relation to his alleged role at the helm of the Chapitos’ security apparatus, including cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and witness retaliation.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday the Senate would once again try to pass a bipartisan border security bill this week after a previous attempt failed when enough Republicans withdrew their support at the urging of former President Donald Trump.

“I hope Republicans and Democrats can work together to pass the bipartisan Border Act this coming week,” Schumer said in a letter to senators.

The Border Act would reform asylum laws, hire thousands of border agents and seek to curtail fentanyl smuggling, among other measures, the Democratic leader said.

Leaders of the Republican-controlled House of Representative called the bill politically motivated.

“Should it reach the House, the bill would be dead on arrival,” House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans said in a statement.

The White House said it strongly supported the legislation.

The previous legislation was tied to U.S. foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel, but this bill would stand alone, Schumer said.

Record numbers of migrants have been caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since Democratic President Joe Biden took office in 2021, and border security has become one of the leading issues in the presidential campaign. Trump is seeking to return to office by challenging Biden in the Nov. 5 election.

In February, a bipartisan immigration bill stalled in the Senate after Trump told Republicans not to support it even though it contained several border-security measures they had sought.

“The former President made clear he would rather preserve the issue for his campaign than solve the issue in a bipartisan fashion. On cue, many of our Republican colleagues abruptly reversed course on their prior support, announcing their new-found opposition to the bipartisan proposal,” Schumer said.

An Oregon man who concocted a scheme with his girlfriend to smuggle cocaine through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, then claimed she was tricked into smuggling the drugs, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges.

Sergio Maximiliano Martinez, 21, of Portland, took part in fabricating a series of social media messages that suggested Victoria Carmona, 25, drove across the border with drugs that were planted in her car, according to prosecutors.

In the messages, Martinez posed as a person hiring Carmona to pick up cash in the United States, then transport it to Mexico. If Carmona was arrested, the messages were designed to make it appear that she didn’t know she was driving a car loaded with drugs.

Carmona was arrested last year after more than 40 pounds of cocaine was discovered in her vehicle, prosecutors said. She shared Facebook Messenger conversations with investigators to support that she’d been tricked into bringing the drugs across, though prosecutors say those messages were faked by Carmona and Martinez.

Additionally, prosecutors say Martinez assisted Carmona in smuggling drugs across the border on seven different occasions and each time faked similar messages to provide Carmona with a cover story in case she was caught.

Martinez and Carmona both pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and obstruction of justice charges and are awaiting sentencing.

A former U.S. Border Patrol agent who accepted bribes and took part in drug and human smuggling attempts pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges.

Hector Hernandez, 55, of Chula Vista, admitted in a plea agreement to showing smugglers the locations of monitoring devices and cameras along the U.S.-Mexico border so they could be able to avoid detection during smuggling operations.

Prosecutors say Hernandez also opened restricted border fences at least five separate times to allow migrants through; he was paid $5,000 per incident.

Hernandez was arrested last May after agreeing to pick up a bag full of drugs hidden near the border.

For $20,000, prosecutors say Hernandez retrieved the bag from a storm drain and took it to his home.

But the drug trafficker with whom Hernandez brokered the deal was actually an undercover federal agent. The bag was filled largely with fake methamphetamine, as well as a tracking device. Upon meeting with the undercover agent to hand off the bag, Hernandez was arrested.

A search of his home turned up cocaine and around $140,000 in cash. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Hernandez admitted that at least $110,000 of that amount were made up of drug proceeds or bribes he accepted.

Hernandez is set to be sentenced in April.

“Agent Hernandez betrayed his badge and his country,” said San Diego U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath in a statement. “Instead of providing protection from smugglers and drug traffickers, he joined them.”

– City News Service

Two women involved in the distribution of methamphetamine at San Diego county jails were sentenced Tuesday to federal prison terms.

Marquella Marshall, 41, of Houston, Texas, and Marsha Delacruz, 47, of Lemon Grove, sent meth to Southern California jails and prisons in concealed packages, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors also described Marshall, who previously lived in San Diego, as a “facilitator” and “secretary” for the Mexican Mafia, a key role that involved selling drugs, collecting and laundering money, and communicating to subordinates on behalf of Mexican Mafia leadership.

Marshall was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison, while Delacruz, who worked under Marshall’s direction, was sentenced to four years.

San Diego U.S. Attorney U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said in a statement, “Drug smuggling and use in prisons result in overdose, violence, and power struggles. These significant sentences are a strike against the prison drug culture which puts guards and staff at risk and exists in large part because of dangerous gangs like the Mexican Mafia.”

A woman who attempted to smuggle more than 40 pounds of cocaine through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, then fabricated messages to make it appear she was tricked into smuggling the drugs, pleaded guilty this week to federal charges.

Victoria Carmona, 25, of San Antonio, Texas, was arrested in February after she was caught with 42.4 pounds of cocaine in her vehicle.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Carmona claimed she was only hired to bring cash into the United States, and was unaware any drugs were in her vehicle.

This account was backed up by Facebook Messenger conversations she shared with investigators, though prosecutors say those messages were faked by Carmona and a co-defendant.

Carmona’s plea agreement states WhatsApp messages were discovered between Carmona and the co-defendant in which they discussed her false cover story.

As part of her plea agreement, Carmona admitted to faking the messages in case she was caught and admitted smuggling drugs into the United States on seven occasions in January and February of this year.

In addition to drug importation counts, Carmona pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for the falsified Facebook messages.

A man has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling drugs into a San Diego County jail, Sheriff’s officials said Friday.

On June 20,2023, Israel Calvillo, 27, was arrested for violating the conditions of his post-release community supervision and booked into custody at the Vista Detention Facility. During the booking process, Calvillo was transported to the hospital for suspicion of smuggling drugs into jail.

The Sheriff’s Detention Investigations Unit began a criminal investigation. While at the hospital, detectives recovered six bindles of drugs that Calvillo had tried to smuggle inside of his body.

The case was forwarded to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution. Rather than go to trial, Calvillo pled guilty to possessing a controlled substance inside of a jail.

A Baja California state police officer has been charged by San Diego federal prosecutors with allegedly trying to bring drugs across the border.

Victor Alfonso Moreno, who Mexican officials said has been an officer for seven years, was arrested Monday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court, Moreno’s car was inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, who discovered 35 packages weighing nearly 100 pounds hidden in the car’s driver’s seat, passenger seat and rear seats.

The substance in the packages tested positive for cocaine, according to the complaint.

Moreno told officers that he did not know drugs were in his car, but stated that a few days earlier, he had left his car at a mechanic’s shop in Tijuana.

He allegedly said that through his work as a police officer in Tijuana, “he had previously investigated the same mechanic for having possible ties to cartels.”

Moreno is among several people in local law enforcement and criminal justice fields on both sides of the border who have been charged with allegedly trying to bring drugs into the U.S. or permitting drug trafficking.

Ana Sofia Lopez Osuna, an employee in the Baja California Attorney General’s Office, was arrested in June after prosecutors say she met with a man in National City who was caught with cocaine.

Leonard Darnell George, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, was also charged this year with taking bribes to allow vehicles carrying drugs across the border, while U.S. Border Patrol agent Hector Hernandez was charged with taking bribes to distribute methamphetamine, as well as allowing migrants to enter the U.S.

In addition, a San Diego-based U.S. Marine, Roberto Salazar II, was sentenced earlier this year to 12 years in prison for coordinating the import of fentanyl into the U.S.

– City News Service

Border Patrol agents arrested a woman who was driving north on Interstate 15 with her 5-year-old daughter and a diaper bag filled with heroin.

The woman was stopped at 7 p.m. Tuesday near the checkpoint just over the Riverside County line. When agents searched her Ford pickup, they found four cellophane-wrapped bundles of heroin inside a diaper bag.

A later record check revealed that the woman had a previous conviction for narcotics smuggling.

The bundles contained 5.4 pounds of heroin with an estimated street value of over $69,000

The woman and narcotics were turned over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation and prosecution. The 5-year-old child was transferred into the custody of an appropriate party.

“Drug trafficking organizations will go to great lengths to smuggle their dangerous cargo through the United States, even when it means endangering the lives of young children,” said Chief Patrol Agent Patricia D. McGurk-Daniel, who is responsible for the San Diego Sector.