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Customs and Border Protection

NJ Woman Sneaks 26 Pounds Of Pot Disguised As Christmas Gifts Into Virgin Islands: Feds NJ Woman Sneaks 26 Pounds Of Pot Disguised As Christmas Gifts Into Virgin Islands: Feds
NJ Woman Sneaks 26 Pounds Of Pot Disguised As Christmas Gifts Into Virgin Islands: Feds A New Jersey woman is facing federal charges for trying to smuggle more than 26 pounds of marijuana disguised as Christmas gifts into the U.S. Virgin Islands, authorities said. Ceestra Burgess, 23, of Irvington, had arrived at the Henry Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix on a Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale when, during a luggage inspection, a Customs and Border Protection canine alerted to the presence of drugs in Burgess’ checked bag, according to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Virgin Islands. The luggage was then placed on the baggage claim carous…
Chilean Ring Used NJ Digs To Stash Loot From Home Burglaries In NY, MD, Elsewhere: Feds Chilean Ring Used NJ Digs To Stash Loot From Home Burglaries In NY, MD, Elsewhere: Feds
Chilean Ring Used NJ Digs To Stash Loot From Home Burglaries In NY, MD, Elsewhere: Feds Six Chilean nationals who burglarized homes in multiple states were recorded on video stashing a huge safe and other items stolen in the break-ins in a Jersey City apartment building, authorities said. The crew took pearl necklaces, diamond earrings, a distinctive high school “state champions” ring, and other jewelry during the burglary of a Westchester County, NY, residence in late March, an FBI complaint says. The same burglars struck again in Baltimore County, MD, in mid-April, taking luxury timepieces, distinctive cufflinks, and a safe that contained a collection of rare coins, the comp…
NJ Flight Attendant Smuggled Millions In Drug Cash To The DR Through Special Airport Lane: Feds NJ Flight Attendant Smuggled Millions In Drug Cash To The DR Through Special Airport Lane: Feds
NJ Flight Attendant Smuggled Millions In Drug Cash To The DR Through Special Airport Lane: Feds A flight attendant from New Jersey smuggled $2.5 million of an estimated $8 million in drug money from the United States to the Dominican Republic through a scheme that capitalized on flight crews’ easy access through airports, authorities charged. Charlie Hernandez, 42, of West New York and three other accused mile-high drug mules used code words such as “lotions” – meaning drug cash – and “los tigres” (for their drug-dealing partners), an indictment alleges. Each got a cut for slipping the cash through unscreened TSA security lanes for international commercial airline employees at JFK Air…
Who Are New Jersey's Sexiest Civil Servants? Here's What New Poll Says Who Are New Jersey's Sexiest Civil Servants? Here's What New Poll Says
Who Are New Jersey's Sexiest Civil Servants? Here's What New Poll Says Ring the alarm! Firefighters may make the calendars and policemen are pretty, but a newly released survey found that New Jersey's sexiest civil servants are neither of the two. According to DatingNews, the hottest civil servants in the Garden State are customs and border protections officers. DatingNews released the new tally after interviewing 3,000 singles to uncover which uniformed pros, though they omitted out the usual suspects, including firefighters, police officers, and members of the military. "In the urban landscape, there's an undeniable physical magnetism that surrounds those …
BI-STATE BUST: Bergen Man, Westchester Woman Had 20 Pounds Of Fentanyl, 2½ Pounds Of Coke: Feds BI-STATE BUST: Bergen Man, Westchester Woman Had 20 Pounds Of Fentanyl, 2½ Pounds Of Coke: Feds
Bi-state Bust: Bergen Man, Westchester Woman Had 20 Pounds Of Fentanyl, 2½ Pounds Of Coke: Feds A Bergen County man and a woman from Westchester were busted with 20 pounds of deadly fentanyl and 2½ pounds of cocaine for sale, federal authorities said. Plinio Junior Pineda Lopez, 33, of Oakland and Lorendy Diaz Beltre De Inoa, 27, of Yonkers were arrested with 1.5 kilos of fentanyl in Wallington, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said Wednesday. Nearly eight more kilos of hidden fentanyl were found during a court-approved search on Tuesday, July 11, of Lopez’s Hillside Avenue home just off West Oakland Avenue and down the street from an entrance/exit for Route 287, inve…
FEDS: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths FEDS: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths
Feds: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths Two North Jersey men worked for a drug-courier service that peddled fentanyl-laced cocaine responsible for killing three customers in a single day, federal authorities in Manhattan charged. Billy "Jason" Ortega, 35, of West Milford was the dispatcher who sent Kaylen Rainey, 30, of Manhattan to three different city addresses on March 17, 2021 after promoting "new batches" of drugs, an FBI complaint on file in the Southern District Court of Manhattan alleges. Three customers -- Amanda Scher, Julia Ghahramani and Ross Mtangi -- all died after ingesting the coke, authorities said. Scher texted…
Feds: PA Man Nabbed Collecting 950 Pounds Of Khat At Newark Airport Feds: PA Man Nabbed Collecting 950 Pounds Of Khat At Newark Airport
Feds: PA Man Nabbed Collecting 950 Pounds Of Khat At Newark Airport A Pennsylvania man was arrested by federal agents when he showed up at Newark Airport to collect a half-ton of khat that was flown in by freight container, authorities said. Azeez Adebari, 46, of Harrisburg, was listed as the consignee on a manifest and other documents the claimed the contents as clothing, ground melon and pepper, among other things, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities charged Adebari with conspiring to possess and distribute 430 kilograms (948 pounds) of the illegal drug after taking him into custody at the airport on Monday…
Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor
Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor Authorities seized more than $6.5 million in cash and virtual currency, as well as more than half a ton of drugs, in the largest dark web bust ever in the U.S., the Justice Department announced Tuesday. A total of 179 buyers and sellers were charged worldwide by law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe as part of Operation DisrupTor, named for the heavily-encrypted private web browser (Tor) most often used to access the dark web, authorities said. More than 600 pounds of fentanyl, heroin, other opioids and cocaine were seized in the U.S. alone. Authorities charged 121 peopl…
NJ Man Admits Stealing 300 iPhones From Federal Evidence Storage NJ Man Admits Stealing 300 iPhones From Federal Evidence Storage
NJ Man Admits Stealing 300 iPhones From Federal Evidence Storage A Somerset County man admitted Monday that he stole 300 iPhones seized by federal immigration authorities by stuffing them in his pants, boots and jacket over the course of a month or so. Joel Cruz, 27, of Franklin Park, was working for a government subcontractor hired to manage property seized by Customs and Border Protection agents that was being stored in a warehouse in the Dayton section of South Brunswick. CBP agents had sent 628 phones bound for Dubai to the warehouse after seizing them at Boston Logan International Airport, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Cruz “scanned the locat…
Feds: 6 Drug Ring Members Trafficked Heroin From Paterson To Atlantic City That Killed 48 Users Feds: 6 Drug Ring Members Trafficked Heroin From Paterson To Atlantic City That Killed 48 Users
Feds: 6 Drug Ring Members Trafficked Heroin From Paterson To Atlantic City That Killed 48 Users Six reputed members of a drug network trafficked heroin from Paterson to Atlantic City that was connected to 48 overdose deaths and 84 other ODs, federal authorities charged. The FBI used wiretaps, video surveillance, confidential informants and more to infiltrate the organization, which sold heroin in bags stamped with, among other names, “AK-47,” “Apple,” “Fortnite,” “Rolex,” “Frank Lucas,” “Bentley,” “Pandora,” and “9½,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Camden names six reputed gang members accused of conspiring to move more than a kil…
Drug Runner In Newark Ring Gets 10 Years In Fed Pen For Trafficking Heroin, Crack Drug Runner In Newark Ring Gets 10 Years In Fed Pen For Trafficking Heroin, Crack
Drug Runner In Newark Ring Gets 10 Years In Fed Pen For Trafficking Heroin, Crack A convicted drug runner from Newark must spend all of a plea-bargained 10 years in federal prison for his role in trafficking more than a kilo of heroin and a half-pound of crack. Maurice "Ree" McPhatter, 47, took the deal from the government rather than risk drug conspiracy convictions at a trial. Because there’s no parole in the federal prison system, he must serve the entire sentence imposed Friday by U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark  McPhatter was among several members of a drug ring that operated in and around Newark who were taken down in 2017 by special agents and of…
Feds: Ex-Con Had 20 Pounds Of Heroin, Coke, $100,000 Cash, Gun In Union County Home Feds: Ex-Con Had 20 Pounds Of Heroin, Coke, $100,000 Cash, Gun In Union County Home
Feds: Ex-Con Had 20 Pounds Of Heroin, Coke, $100,000 Cash, Gun In Union County Home Federal agents seized a combined 20 pounds of heroin and cocaine from an ex-con caught running a drug mill from his Union County apartment, authorities said. Brad Toby, 35, of Linden served three years in state prison on a drug conviction before being released in 2016, records show. Federal authorities who found him back at it also seized $100,000 in suspected proceeds, drug packaging materials – including scales and kilo presses – and a handgun with ammunition, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Toby, who's believed to be part of a larger drug ring operating in operating in New Jersey an…
California Rig Driver Caught With Kilos Of Heroin, Fentanyl In Morris Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen California Rig Driver Caught With Kilos Of Heroin, Fentanyl In Morris Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen
California Rig Driver Caught With Kilos Of Heroin, Fentanyl In Morris Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen A Salvadoran national will likely be deported after serving a 27-month plea-bargained federal prison term for driving a tractor-trailer that contained 22 pounds of heroin and nearly nine pounds of fentanyl when authorities stopped it in Morris County. Joselito Colindres, 42, of Riverside, CA, previously admitted in U.S. District Court in Newark that he knew the drugs were in the trailer when he got to Pennsylvania, but he kept going to New Jersey, anyway. Authorities converged on the rig in North Jersey on Oct. 21, 2018, arresting Colindres, who they said had been living in the country lega…