US Border Patrol Horse Patrol Seizures of Marijuana

Border Patrol agents with the Ajo Station (Arizona) Horse Patrol Unit on Sunday, March 12, discovered 340 pounds of marijuana that smugglers had abandoned near Ajo.  According to a news release from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, agents conducting surveillance saw 10 people walking in the desert, and the horse patrol was dispatched to the group's last known vacation. Agents found eight bundles of marijuana worth more than $170,000.  

The smugglers were not caught.  This time they did not shoot at the agents as they ran away.  The marijuana was taken to the Ajo Station for processing.  And the Border Patrol still will be using horses, mostly Mustangs gentled by Federal Prisoners, to access remote areas in the desert that are inaccessible to motorized vehicles or restricted as is the case of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  Horses continue to fit a niche in patrolling where vehicles cannot go or observation devices cannot see.  Horses are quiet and can be intimidating once a horse patrol encounters a group. 

 

Smugglers, both illegal immigrant and narcotics smugglers, exploit remote and rugged areas, sometimes taking days to cross the border and access a series of safe houses, transportation cells including pre-arranged load ups on Interstate 10.  See the solar panel in the photo above right?  Helps re-charge cell phones for communications between groups and transportation cells.  It is common for now for illegal aliens being smuggled to be made to carry a burlap bundled load of marijuana made into a backpack to help pay for their trip and increase smuggler profits. 

The majority of the American population has no idea of the situation along the Southwest border.  Rampant corruption along governmental officials in Mexico, from local to federal law enforcement, to municipal and state governors continue to set up an environment that is conducive and prosperous to smugglers.   There is a corridor between Tucson and Gila Bend Arizone running North to Interstate 10 and further into the Case Grande and Phoenix areas that are highly active.  See map at left. 

 

Arroyos (dry river beds), hills, heavy cactus and brush all providing concealment and cover for smugglers, as well as narco scouts reporting on law enforcment presence and activity in the area all conspire to make it very difficult to detect and interdict illegal activity.  This is where the thick boned, hard footed Mustangs excel and earn their feed.

 

 

Bandit crews, preying on illegal alien traffic as well as ripping off drug loads are active in the area as well.  These bandit groups are heavily armed and have no compunction about shooting at American Law Enforcement officers as the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010.   In fact, the 5th and last bandit responsible for killing Agent Terry was apprehended by Mexican authorities a few days ago. Hopefully he'll soon be joining his criminal partners in a U.S. prison soon.

Border Patrol Horse Patrol agents seize over 400 lbs of Drugs

Not only do drug smugglers bring narcotics across the border on horseback, the good guys use horses to combat drug smuggling. There are places along the border that Border Patrol agents are not allowed to use motorized transportation. These places and long tracks in rugged border mountain areas are where horses come in real handy. There are many people who have not experienced the Southern border first hand and have no idea of not only the problems with criminal groups smuggling narcotics but people as well. The difficulties with the terrain and climate add to the burden of enforcing the border. In many sections of the border, communications is non-existent. Agents can't communicate to their dispatchers, nor call for help if needed. The story below is an example of the doggedness of Border Patrol agents, assisted by CBP air units.

U.S. Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Lordsburg (New Mexico) Stations Horse Patrol Unit, with the assistance of Air and Marine units, tracked and located a group of narcotics smugglers Tuesday 18 November in the dense terrain of the mountains of southern New Mexico. This incident was one of many that resulted in drug seizures as part of a very busy week for agents in that region.

Agents first discovered that several individuals crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on foot near Antelope Wells on Saturday and began tracking them through the Animas Valley. Due to the difficulty of terrain, the search became tedious.

Agents remained persistent in pursuing the suspected illegal crossers over a span of three days. The combined effort of agents on the ground and assistance from members of the Office of Air and Marine-El Paso Air Branch resulted in the seizure of 412 pounds of marijuana in the "Cowboy Pass" area, approximately 45 miles north of the starting point.

Among those arrested in connection with the seizure were: Isidro Torres-Nunez, 24, and Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Delgado, 22, both of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico; Felipe de Jesus Beltran-Torres, 21, of Tamazula, Durango, Mexico; and Aron Jovan Baldarrama-Villanueva, 20, of Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. The suspects were place in custody and Agents recovered seven burlap wrapped, makeshift backpacks containing individually wrapped packages of marijuana. The 412-pound seizure carries an estimated street value of $330,240.

Also apprehended in the group of smugglers was Gustavo Aispuro-Corral, a Mexican national who had been hired to travel with the crowd for the purpose of carrying food and supplies.

The above story was in a news release from Customs and Border Protection.

End of Watch - Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie

On Tuesday October 2nd, 2012 while responding as part of a Horse Patrol unit from Naco Border Patrol Station to a sensor activation, close to Highway 80 just West of Douglas Arizona, which indicated a possible narcotics load up occurring, Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie was shot and killed in the line of duty.

Another Border Patrol Agent was wounded. The subjects, not yet determined to be either a bandit group intending on robbing illegal aliens, or simply a armed narcotics smuggling group, have not yet been captured, or, suspects detained in the general area have not yet been linked to the shooting.

Update:  Since posting this article, a preliminary FBI investigation has now reported that in all probability Agent Ivie was killed as a result of friendly fire. Imagine several agents responding to a remote area in the dead of night, expecting to find a narcotics load or a bandit crew, and you can start to see what kind of situation this is.  The results of the investigation do not make Agent Ivie's sacrifice any less.     


Border Patrol Agent Ivie is the second Border Patrol Agent to die in the line of duty in the last two years from armed criminals operating inside the border in very rough and remote areas of Arizona.  Nicholas Ivie left a wife and two young children. We wish speed in God granting Agent Ivie's family a measure of peace from their grief.

Please keep our Border Patrol Agents, especially those on horseback, as well as our other dedicated law enforcement officers in your thoughts and prayers.