Casa Grande, AZ: 6-Time Illegal Alien Deportee Arrested

Casa Grande, AZ: 6-Time Illegal Alien Deportee Arrested..A Pinal County Sheriff's Office sergeant pulled over a GMC Yukon in Casa Grande after he observed the driver committing several traffic violations. The driver, identified as 56-year-old Delbert Pedro of the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, admitted to the deputy there were "two illegals inside." The sergeant ordered the men out of the truck, and one of them fled on foot. The other was identified as 26-year-old Miguel Venegas of Mexico -- but at first, he told the sergeant his name was Hector Silva. Investigators determined that the man was Venegas and had given the sergeant a false identity. He had a criminal history which includes arrests in Fresno for forgery, possession of narcotics, fighting, and loitering where a child is present. The sheriff's office also determined that Venegas had been deported from the U.S. six times. Venegas was booked for false reporting to a law enforcement officer. Pedro was booked into the Pinal County Detention Center for human smuggling and his vehicle was towed.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/crime/6-time-deportee-arrested-in-casa-grande-6-13-2011

East of Ajo/Tohono O'odham Reservation, AZ: Taxi Stand..Illegals can call for a ride -- no "charge"

East of Ajo/Tohono O'odham Reservation, AZ: Taxi Stand..Illegals can call for a ride -- no "charge"... new rescue beacon is located just outside the boundary of reservation.. The Indians believe that water stations and rescue beacons (with their blue guiding light flashing all night) are aiding and abetting the criminal enterprise of smuggling. "...Several Border Patrol field agents and other law-enforcement authorities, including members of the Tohono O'odham Nation, believe the water stations are being used by alien smugglers and drug smugglers to help them through the desert. They said numerous maps have been discovered on both sides of the border showing (distributed by Humane Borders) the precise location of each of the stations (and rescue beacons)..Unless the ilegals are felons, they will usually not be charged with any crime and will be sent back south

http://www.americanpatrol.com/11-FEATURES/110608-FEATURE/110608_Feature.html

Cartels using AZ mountaintops to spy on cops...Spartan, military-style observation posts facilitate smuggling across desert

Cartels using AZ mountaintops to spy on cops...Spartan, military-style observation posts facilitate smuggling across desert.. Authorities say most of the mountain tops in the Tohono O'odham Native American reservation in Arizona are being used by Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel to hide surveillance teams who operate as spotters while cargo is trafficked across the U.S. border.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43096521/ns/nightly_news/t/cartels-using-ariz-mountaintops-spy-cops/from/toolbar

Major smuggling organization cracked in Arizona

Major smuggling organization cracked in Arizona..Officials say 21 of 46 suspected members of the group have been arrested..The group with ties to a Mexican drug cartel used a variety of methods to bring tons of marijuana into the U.S. through the Tohono O'Odham Indian Nation southwest of Tucson since 2008, AZ Attorney General Tom Horne said. The trafficking organization connected to the Sinaloa drug cartel also brought illegal aliens in the country, and returned cash and weapons to Mexico.
smugglers used sophisticated surveillance from hilltop locations to spot and avoid U.S. Border Patrol agents. The spotters used night vision equipment and radios

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/19/20110519arizona-drug-smuggling-ring-arrests.html

Maricopa, AZ: Vekol Valley: 'I don't go by myself. And I don't go unarmed'

Maricopa, AZ: Vekol Valley: 'I don't go by myself. And I don't go unarmed'...Shootings, robberies and murders are all too common in Vekol Valley - a vast area near the Pinal-Maricopa county line..one of the busiest drug corridors anywhere in the U.S..Located about 80 miles north of the US-Mexico border, Vekol Valley encompasses a vast area between Pinal and Maricopa counties..human smugglers and drug traffickers enter the U.S. on foot using the Tohono o'Odham nation, where many go undetected as they make their way north.

http://www.kold.com/story/14657570/vekol-valley-smuggling-superhighway