White House Honors Law Enforcement in United States Interdiction Coordinator Awards Ceremony
Law enforcement recognized for delivering on President Biden’s Unity Agenda efforts to address the overdose epidemic and disrupt illicit drug trafficking across the country
Washington, D.C. – Today, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta recognized law enforcement officials and agencies at the annual United States Interdiction Coordinator (USIC) Awards for their exemplary work to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and dismantle the criminal networks fueling the nation’s overdose epidemic. Recipients from across the country were selected for their outstanding efforts to help advance President Biden’s Unity Agenda by reducing the flow of deadly, illicit drugs like fentanyl into American communities.
“Since Day One, President Biden has taken historic action and made historic investments to support law enforcement and drug-related crime prevention as part of his whole-of-society effort to address the overdose epidemic,” said Dr. Gupta. “I’m proud to honor the heroic efforts of these law enforcement leaders today who are working tirelessly around the clock to prevent deadly drugs from reaching our communities and hurting vulnerable Americans. The Biden-Harris Administration is grateful for their steadfast partnership, and will continue to support life-saving law enforcement efforts to reduce overdoses, deprive drug traffickers of their profits, and keep Americans safe.”
President Biden has made cracking down on global illicit drug trafficking and holding drug traffickers accountable a key priority in his efforts to address the overdose epidemic and save lives. Under his leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has invested significant amounts of funding for law enforcement efforts to combat illicit fentanyl trafficking, deployed the most agents and officers ever to address the flow of narcotics at the Southern border, added drug detection machines across points of entry to disrupt the smuggling of fentanyl into the Homeland and seized record levels of illicit fentanyl at our ports of entry. U.S. law enforcement has seized more fentanyl at ports of entry in the past two years than in the previous five years combined. In just the last five months, a historic 375,200 pounds of illicit drugs, including over 442 million doses of fentanyl were seized at U.S. borders.
As the country is seeing historic declines in violent crime nationwide, the Administration recently announced over $276 million in new funding for law enforcement agencies across the country that seize illicit drugs like fentanyl, prevent and reduce gun violence and other violent crime associated with drug trafficking, improve interdiction efforts through enhanced data sharing and targeting, and dismantle illicit finance operations. Additionally, President Biden has called for $44.5 billion in his FY 2025 Budget to continue building on the Administration’s historic progress to counter illicit drug trafficking and make our communities safer.
The ONDCP USIC Award Program recognizes the superior efforts and achievements of agencies and individuals on the frontlines of drug interdiction. The interdictions occurred across the drug trafficking supply chain, including cyber and illicit proceeds flowing back into the drug trafficking organization networks. Dr. Gupta awarded the following recipients for their work in calendar year 2023 to address the overdose epidemic and disrupt illicit drug trafficking:
CYBER INVESTIGATIONS
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office, Hi-Tech Organized Crime Squad
The FBI targeted Darknet drug vendors selling lethal opioids online to customers throughout the United States in exchange for cryptocurrency. This resulted in the arrest of 6 drug traffickers; the seizure of 500 pounds of narcotics, 18 guns, 6 pill presses, $225,000 in cash and cryptocurrency; and the identification of more than three thousand customers. In 2023, the task force coordinated with FBI Headquarters to launch a nationwide initiative to interview buyers throughout all 50 states and disseminate leads to federal, state, and local partners, leading to additional arrests and disruptions of drug trafficking organizations.
DOMESTIC INVESTIGATIONS
Indiana HIDTA – FBI Gang Response Investigative Team (GRIT)
On July 12, 2021, Indiana State Police responded to two individuals unresponsive due to a suspected fentanyl overdose. The FBI Gang Response Investigative Team (GRIT) Task Force was alerted and opened an investigation. In March 2022, the case was granted approval under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCEDTF) and involved a regional drug trafficking organization (DTO) that was linked to a high priority target in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Like much of the United States, Indiana has been plagued by the fentanyl crisis. By dismantling this DTO, FBI GRIT removed dangerous traffickers of deadly narcotics acting in Indiana and neighboring states. Additionally, FBI GRIT was able to remove a key supplier linked to CJNG.
EMERGING THREATS
Customs and Border Protection – Land Border Integration Division Conveyance Monitoring and Predictive Recognition System (CMPRS) Team
The CMPRS team used an intelligence targeting tool that identifies vehicle license plates, vessel/boat hull numbers, and aircraft tail numbers, and that can be easily deployed by mounting high-speed cameras on trailers and vehicles and at marinas and airports. CMPRS capabilities and success have drawn cross-component interest throughout CBP, and have facilitated currency, firearms, ammunitions, and drug seizures totaling $146 million in 2023.
HIGHWAY INTERDICTIONS
HSI Albuquerque/HSI HIDTA Group – Officer Julian Armijo, New Mexico State Police
On September 13, 2023, Officer Julian Armijo of the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) K9 Team and a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Task Force Officer (TFO) initiated a traffic stop on a passenger car for a violation of the New Mexico State traffic code. While conducting the traffic stop, Officer Armijo observed indicators of criminal activity and subsequently conducted a probable cause search of the passenger car. Officer Armijo located 10.5 kilograms of fentanyl pills in the vehicle, and charged the male driver for possession of the pills. The investigation also implicated the male driver for a shooting that resulted in the murder of Froylan Villegas, an 11-year-old child, and that critically injured his cousin, Tatiana Villegas, outside of Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
ILLICIT FINANCE
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago Financial Crimes Task Force (FCTF) Group
The HSI FCTF, which includes the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office – Northern District of Illinois, initiated Operation Banco Sucio, an investigation designed to identify, disrupt, and dismantle complicit international money brokers and domestic operatives of a transnational criminal organization by conducting undercover money pickups of illicit funds. To date, this investigation has resulted in the seizure of $6.6 million, 132 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine, 592 kilograms of cocaine, 11 kilograms of methamphetamine, 18 kilograms of heroin/fentanyl, 11 guns, five vehicles, and one plane. 29 individuals were indicted, including the cell leader, 13 of his coconspirators, and three Miami-based accountants allegedly responsible for laundering millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds.
INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS
DEA Miami Counternarcotic Cyber Investigations Task Force (CCITF)
Over the last two years, DEA CCITF began investigating and targeting China-based chemical companies who played a key role in the manufacture, sale, and import of multi-ton quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, xylazine, and nitazenes using counterfeit postage to conceal their exploits into the United States. CCITF significantly disrupted the inflow of Chinese-manufactured fentanyl precursor chemicals, xylazine, and nitazenes to the United States, and the investigations led to the largest-ever single Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) financial sanctions and the indictments of three China-based chemical manufacturers and four Chinese nationals.
LAND INTERDICTION
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Hartford, Northeast Corridor Border Enforcement Security Task Force Group
In 2022, the HSI Hartford (Connecticut) Northeast Corridor Border Enforcement Security Task Force (NE-BEST), with cooperation from CBP, the Connecticut State Police, the Hartford Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and private sector partners, began an interdiction initiative focused on the identification and disruption of illegal drug and bulk currency smuggling through domestic and international carriers. In 2023, this initiative, combined with other investigative efforts, led to the seizure of over 80 kilograms of controlled substances, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and ketamine. Additionally, the NE-BEST seized $810,000 in bulk US currency, and initiated 19 parallel investigations concerning bulk currency smuggling.
MARITIME INTERDICTION
United States Coast Guard Cutter JAMES
Amidst heavy seas on the afternoon of September 11, 2023, a junior watchstander noticed what appeared to be the wake of a go-fast vessel approximately 10 nautical miles off James’ bow. The cutter set its Go-Fast Response Bill, spurring the entirety of James’ crew in motion to prepare for a counter-drug pursuit. James used an operational procedure agreed upon with Ecuador that allowed law enforcement teams to embark the vessel, where they found 73 bales of cocaine. Following the successful seizure of 1,752 kilograms of cocaine and the detention of three suspected narco-traffickers, James coordinated an at-sea transfer of the detainees and contraband with Ecuador to enable home country prosecution and strengthen a key partnership.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
DEA Phoenix Field Division – Tucson District Office (TDO) – Pima County HIDTA Investigative Task Force (PCHITF) – Enforcement Group 46 (EG-46)
During the course of 2023, Tucson District Office Enforcement Group 46 (EG-46), in conjunction with their Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force partners, including various law enforcement and prosecutors, conducted 45 drug and drug conspiracy investigations. One of their main investigations during 2023 was DEA Initiative “Operation Overdrive.” At the conclusion of Operation Overdrive (April 2023), the group arrested approximately 80 percent of their identified targets and seized 1.1 million fentanyl pills, 26.4 pounds of fentanyl powder, 42 pounds of methamphetamine, equating to 4.26 million deadly doses of fentanyl and 78,000 deadly doses of methamphetamine, and 12 handguns.
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