Monday, July 26, 2010

Public tip leads to pot seizure in Tucson home

TUCSON, Ariz. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents seized more than 480 pounds of marijuana from a Tucson stash house Wednesday following a tip from a concerned citizen.

The lead came from someone concerned about suspected drug smuggling activity at a residence in the 200 block of West Tennessee Street in Tucson. After further investigation, agents determined the residence was previously searched in April during Operation In Plain Sight, one of the largest human smuggling investigations in ICE history. A federal search warrant was issued for the house, and inside agents seized a total of 484 pounds of marijuana and a revolver.

"This is a great example of an alert citizen having a positive impact on the community," said Rick Crocker, deputy special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Tucson. "Denying drug smugglers the use of this residence will certainly improve neighborhood safety." ICE HSI agents investigating this case work with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Strike Force in Tucson. ICE actively participates in this multi-agency task force, whose specialized mission is to conduct complex criminal investigations into large-scale drug trafficking cartels. The concept is to use the combined capabilities and resources of the participating agencies as an effective tool to attack all aspects of dangerous criminal organizations.

Since January 2010, ICE HSI agents assigned to this task force have arrested 20 suspects and seized more than 2,200 pounds of marijuana, 10 weapons, and 124 grams of methamphetamine.

The investigation into this incident is on-going. Any one with information regarding this bust should contact ICE's tip line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE.

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