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War on Drugs

NYC Judge lets criminal possessing 20k rainbow fentanyl pills free without bail

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49-year-old Manuel Pagan was arrested for possessing 20 thousand fentanyl pills that were rainbow colored, rumored to attract children.

Pagan is already back on the streets thanks, released without bail, thanks to the New York state’s criminal justice reform reform bill which passed in 2019 and took action in 2020.

The law makes first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance a bailable offense. The crimes that are not bailable include aggravated assault on a person less than 11 years old, aggravated vehicular homicide, third- and fourth-degree arson, and promoting a sexual performance by a child.

Fox News reports:

Pagan faces two felony counts – one for criminal possession of narcotics with distribution intent, and the other for possessing more than 8 ounces of narcotics. The latter is considered a first-degree class-A felony, and the former is a class-B felony…

…The New York Post reported that the city’s Office of the Special Narcotics prosecutor overseeing the case requested Pagan be held on $100,000 cash bail, or $250,000 bond at his arraignment.

Instead, Manhattan Judge James Clyne released Pagan without bail.

Clyne ordered supervised release for Pagan, which requires him to meet certain conditions like check-ins, but he is free to “roam the streets,” as the Post put it.

Pagan’s next court date is scheduled for Dec. 15 at 9 a.m.

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Immigration

Thousands of pounds of meth seized from vegetable shipments in one week from one border location

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized large quantities of methamphetamine this month alone at just one cargo facility located in Otay Mesa, California. Law enforcement officials warn that this month’s thousands of pounds of meth were smuggled in none other than vegetables.

A shipment of peppers and tomatillos being driven by a 27-year-old male with a valid border crossing card driving a commercial tractor-trailer was stopped by CBP officers, reports The Center Square:

At first glance, the shipment appeared to contain only peppers and tomatillos. But after a K-9 unit screened it, officers examined the trailer and found a box containing a crystal-like substance. Additional officers were radioed to provide assistance and began extracting package after package hidden under the produce. They found 3,594 packages that were tested and identified as methamphetamine. The stash totaled 3,671.58 pounds.

At the same facility and in the same week CBP officers uncovered another massive load of meth being smuggled inside a shipment of carrots. The Center Square reports:

They stopped a 44-year-old man, also a valid border crossing card holder, driving a commercial tractor trailer hauling a shipment manifested as carrots. Officers unloaded the cases of carrots and found suspicious packages hidden underneath, which were tested and identified as methamphetamine. Overall, they seized 574 packages weighing approximately 2,900 pounds.

In both instances, the meth and commercial tractor-trailers were seized; the drivers were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.

The Center Square writes that Mexican cartels for decades have devised creative ways to smuggle drugs and people into the U.S., including “task saturation” and “migrant warfare,” according to authorities. Surging resources in one area to leave the border open in another area enables cartel operatives and gangs they work with to commit a range of crimes. Another tactic is hiding people and drugs in trucks, including behind or under produce, to bring through ports of entry.

 

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