[FoxNews] CBP stopped Padron on the way into Mexico Monday.
Federal authorities have arrested an American woman accused of trying to smuggle a shipment of dozens of rifles in trampoline packaging across the border into Mexico earlier this week.
Mayra Alejandra Padron, a 31-year-old from Houston, was arrested Monday at the Hidalgo port of entry – allegedly carrying 44 rifles, a single handgun, a dissembled M249 machine gun and almost 3,000 rounds of ammunition in the back of a gray Chevy pickup truck.
Padron allegedly told Homeland Security Investigations agents that someone paid her $200 to drive the Silverado from Houston to Mexico, that she’d made similar runs in the past and that she intended to open a cross-border shipping business.
Padron has a criminal record dating back to when she was just a kid – with a conviction for failure to identify or giving false information when she was 11 and for assaulting a public servant when she was 12, court documents show.
More recently, police charged her with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in December, a case that is still pending.
The judge ordered her held without bond Tuesday, court documents show, citing her criminal record, flight risk and statements from her prior bondsman that alleged she had not followed her earlier release conditions.
Photos of the seizure show dozens of rifles lined up on a warehouse floor. They include AK-47 and SKS weapons.
Investigators from Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as U.S. Border Patrol and Texas Department of Public Safety took part in the bust.
During the interview, she allegedly gave conflicting statements, according to the criminal complaint. First, she told investigators she bought "merchandise" to bring to her brother in Reynosa, 40 minutes south of the border, then said it was for her brother’s neighbor, "Sergio."
"Later in the interview, Padron stated that an unknown individual went to her house and identified himself by saying that he was there on behalf of ‘Sergio’ to pick up her vehicle and load it with merchandise," the complaint reads. "Padron admitted that she ‘felt something was not right’ because ‘Sergio’ kept on ‘pushing’ her to get the trampolines delivered quickly."
She even allegedly accepted extra pay to leave Houston early – then "admitted that she was going to accept responsibility for what happened," according to the complaint.
[Breitbart] Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 2,000 migrants during a 48-hour period in what is becoming the nation’s busiest sector.
Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted photos showing groups of migrants being apprehended after they illegally cross the border from Mexico into Texas. The chief reported his agents arrested more than 2,000 migrants, including unaccompanied children, in a 48-hour time frame.
“Life in DRT, the men & women holding the line & dealing w/ this influx deserve nothing less than the full support of a grateful nation,” Chief Owens tweeted. “It’s an INCREDIBLY tough & frustrating situation for them.”
The tweet from Chief Owens follows just days after he reported Del Rio Sector agents apprehended more than 720 migrants per day over the first weekend in February.
The massive increase in migrant apprehensions in the last five weeks moved the Del Rio Sector to the busiest of the nine southwest Border Patrol sectors, according to a source operating under the umbrella of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Chief Owens stated some stations within the sector are experiencing increases of 350 percent over the same period in 2021, Breitbart Texas reported.
During a recent border tour, Breitbart Texas captured exclusive video of a steady flow of mostly Venezuelan migrants crossing at a single crossing point in Eagle Pass, Texas. Within about two hours, approximately 50 migrants crossed at this one location.
Another 5-year-old female child found, making this the second in two days.
This time a 5-year-old Honduran female was found with three other children, the oldest being 16.
— Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens (@USBPChiefDRT) February 9, 2022
132 Migrants Found Locked in Tractor-Trailer in Far West Texas near Border
[Breitbart] Border Patrol agents in the El Paso Sector rescued a group of 132 migrants locked inside a tractor-trailer near the Texas border with Mexico. The group included two unaccompanied Guatemalan migrant children. The 130 adult migrants were identified as citizens of Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, officials stated.
The family of Ladan Ibrahim, a civil servant in Sokoto State, who was arrested for alleged terrorism financing has lamented the delay in the investigation of the case.
According to them, Ibrahim was arrested alongside 44 other people by security operatives for alleged terrorism financing linked to Boko Haram.
He is now reportedly in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency in Abuja.
The aggrieved family members, in an interview with Daily Trust, said life had been unbearable for them after Ibrahim's arrest as they stated that he was the only breadwinner, who had been taking care of them and also his relatives.
His family members included four wives and 16 children.
Speaking on behalf of the family members, one of the wives, Habiba Ibrahim Ladan said the level of hardship they were currently experiencing was taking a toll on them.
"I am the fourth wife reaching out on behalf of my co-wives; A’i Ladan Ibrahim, Fatima Ladan Ibrahim, Uwani Ladan Ibrahim, our 16 children and the entire members of his extended families.
"We have and are currently experiencing abject hardship since he left. I and the first wife are not in good health. I go to the hospital every month while she goes every week since his departure.
"Our children have stopped going to school. Even what to eat is a problem for us; he is the head of the family who supports both his immediate and extended family.
"We are really suffering, let him be taken to court, charge him on what they are accusing him of. At least, we know that justice is done to him and to us."
Ladan Ibrahim formally worked with the state’s pilgrims’ welfare board and later with the Ministry for Higher Education in Sokoto State before his arrest.
Aircraft of the Nigerian Air Force under Operation Thunder Strike have bombed at least 20 terrorists otherwise known as bandits, who were heading for the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna State.
Credible intelligence sources told PR Nigeria that the bandits, riding on over 50 motorcycles, were seen on Thursday evening, advancing towards the Academy, in Kaduna State.
Recall that gunmen, suspected to be bandits, invaded the military academic institution, in June 2021.
During the previous attack, a Nigerian Army Captain was abducted as the criminals shot two soldiers dead.
Following a tip-off on movement of bandits through the military school’s general areas on Thursday, two Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter gunships were dispatched to engage the criminals, who had taken off from Damari village in the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area.
The bandits, in their numbers, were sighted in makeshift tents and motorcycles amounting up to 50.
"On sighting the aircraft, the bandits started fleeing into the fringes of the forest. This brought about an objective and very decisive rain of hell from above on the miscreants as surviving bandits seen to be scampering for safety from the superior air presence were effectively mopped up.
"Moreso as it is customary, feedback received on Friday, after the operation from both the ground forces and local sources, revealed that the bandits were effectively disoriented and suffered a loss of about 20 bandits.
"Also, their plans of harassing and shaming the Nigerian Defence Academy and the Government of the day were effectively thwarted," he said.
The Arab Coalition has conducted 16 targeted #strikes in Yemen’s Hajjah and Saada in 24 hours, to deter the Iran-backed #Houthi militia, the official Saudi Press Agency reports.https://t.co/xQt5mAzzjQ
The Arab Coalition has conducted 16 targeted strikes in Yemen’s Hajjah and Saada in the last 24 hours, in an attempt to deter the Iran-backed Houthi militia, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
The targeted strikes resulted in the destruction of 13 “military vehicles,” according to SPA, and caused casualties among the Houthis.
No fatalities were reported by SPA.
The operation comes during a time when tensions are rising with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
On Thursday, the Arab Coalition asked residents of Sanaa to evacuate some “civilian sites” in the next 72 hours and warned of strikes on the Houthi militia in the area.
“Crucial points will be bombed in Sanaa that the Houthis use to launch marches,” the Arab Coalition in an earlier statement carried by SPA.
The warning came after the Houthi militia conducted a drone strike against Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport on Thursday, injuring 12 people.
Abha, near Saudi Arabia’s southern border with Yemen, is a regular target of drone and missile strikes launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia fighting coalition forces in Yemen.
Numerous countries and country representatives including the US Department of State, the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, and others, condemned the airport attack.
#Turkey’s intelligence thwarts a plot orchestrated by #Iran to kill an Israeli-Turkish businessman based in Istanbul, a pro-government daily reports.https://t.co/DRrBlqLKAV
Turkish spies thwarted a plot orchestrated by Iran to kill an Israeli-Turkish businessman based in Istanbul, a pro-government daily reported Friday.
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) discovered a network of nine operatives dubbed an “Iran assassination team” plotting to kill Yair Geller, the Sabah daily reported.
Geller has businesses in the aviation-defense industry as well as in technology and software, the daily added.
The assassination was supposed to be in retaliation for the killing of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020 which Iran blamed on Israel, Sabah claimed.
Turkey at the time condemned Fakhrizadeh’s assassination as an act of “terrorism.”
Sabah’s story comes as Turkey seeks a rapprochement with Israel after Ankara ordered out Israel’s ambassador over the killing of protesters along the Gaza Strip border in 2018.
Istanbul police launched an operation to detain the nine men “a few days ago,” the newspaper said, but the leader of the network is apparently in Iran.
Eight have been arrested on charges including “setting up an organization to commit crime” and “being a member of a group set up to commit crime,” it added.
The men had been watched by MIT agents as they followed Geller at home and at work, collecting information to prepare the assassination, Sabah said.
MIT also met with Israel’s Mossad spy agency in Ankara to inform them of the plot’s next step to kill Geller. He was taken to a “safe house” shortly after, it added.
The newspaper even claimed the plot was an attempt to “derail Turkey-Israel relations” after “positive steps were taken” to improve ties.
There had been high hopes in Ankara that Israeli President Isaac Herzog would pay an official visit to Turkey this month but it is now expected by Turkey to be in March.
Turkey and Iran have historically close economic ties but have found themselves on opposite sides of regional conflicts, including in Syria.
But they both see themselves as the center and natural hegemon of the Muslim Middle East, ruling over those benighted Arabs so clearly incapable of ruling themselves. Naturally, the Aryans and Turks clash. The Times of Israel adds:
The reports say an Iranian spy cell comprised of nine operatives, some Iranian and some Turkish, who were sent to kill Yair Geller, an Israeli-Turkish businessman who lives in Istanbul and owns an engineering company specializing in aerospace technology.
The leader of the cell in Turkey was identified as Iranian Moshtagh Bighouz. A ninth person, the squad’s leader in Iran, was named as Iranian intelligence officer Yasin Taheremamkendi.
The Times of Israel has a cute little organization chart at the link of the assassins — with photos.
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02/12/2022 00:00 ||
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Srinagar, Feb 11: A policeman was killed while three cops and a CRPF trooper sustained injuries in a grenade attack on the security forces by militants at main town Bandipora in north Kashmir on Friday, officials said.
Quoting the officials, news agency KNO reported that the militants attacked a joint party of police and CRPF near Nishat Park in main town Bandipora this afternoon.
In the attack, a cop was killed while three others sustained injuries.
News agency GNS while quoting official sources identified the slain cop as SPO Zubair Ahmad of Papschan Bandipora. The three injured cops have been identified as head constable Mohd Shafi having splinter injuries in both the legs, Rayees Ahmad of Bandipora, also having suffered splinter injuries in legs and Mohd Yasir, who suffered injuries on right knee in the attack. The identity of the CRPF cop was not immediately known.
The injured have been shifted to the hospital for treatment while security forces cordoned the area to nab the fleeing militants.
#Syria's #Daraa is witnessing an unprecedented security chaos in light of the increase of kidnappings for ransom in full view of the security services. https://t.co/aEGGduXRWE
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – On Thursday evening , a gang released a doctor they had kidnapped a month ago in the eastern countryside of Daraa.
The gang released the doctor after paying a ransom,” a source close to the doctor Haidar Ali al-Rifai said.
The source added that the doctor’s family paid a ransom of 100 million Syrian pounds ($30, 000).
The doctor was in the eastern town of Karak with a gang engaged in kidnapping and theft, the source said.
Daraa governorate is witnessing an unprecedented security chaos in light of the increase of kidnappings for ransom in full view of the security services of the government forces.
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – In two days, the Islamic State Organization (ISIS) claimed responsibility for five operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
ISIS Amaq News Agency, published a statement saying its members targeted, with five operations, SDF inspection points and military vehicles in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
On Thursday, ISIS, through its outlets claimed an infiltration of its members into SDF military point in Shabkah neighborhood in the center of the town of Shuhail, 40 km east of Deir ez-Zor.
Five SDF fighters were killed during the operation, and their weapons were confiscated, as well as fire was set to the checkpoints, ISIS outlets said.
ISIS claimed through close outlets, responsibility for targeting a SDF military checkpoints in Latwa neighborhood in the town of Dhiban, 50 km east of Deir ez-Zor, and said in its statement the attack resulted in the injury of two SDF fighters and the return of the ISIS members to their positions safely.
This attack coincided with another that was launched against a military post of the SDF in the village of Jazaret al-Bushams, west of Deir ez-Zor.
ISIS cells targeted the military post on the entrance to the village with grenades and machineguns killing and wounding six SDF fighters, according to ISIS outlets.
This morning, Friday, ISIS claimed responsibility for two operations that targeted SDF military point and vehicle in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
ISIS also stated that its fighters targeted an SDF military vehicle weapons in the town of Susah, 125 km east of Deir ez-Zor, with machine guns.
Reporting by Muhammad Ali
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02/12/2022 00:00 ||
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IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, used live bullets to dispers protests in the camps near the town of Atma, north of Idlib.
“Large protests took place between the residents and IDPs of the border town of Atma, after HTS members shot a woman called Fatima Abdulrahman al-Hamid, wounding her in the head while smuggling a container of diesel fuel through the bushes and farmland,” North Press reported eyewitnesses from Atma town.
The protesters raised banners denouncing HTS practices and calling for the overthrow of HTS and its leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, according to eyewitnesses.
HTS members arrived in the area and started shooting in order to disperse the protesters, which spread a state of fear and panic among the displaced people in the surrounding tents, they added.
Yesterday evening, HTS stormed two camps near the town of Atma, using live bullets and armored vehicles, in order to expel the residents who gathered in the camp after the killing of a woman and the wounding of others by its members.
As the controller of all aspects of life in northwest Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham continues to restrict the population there
Reporting by Bara’ al-Shami
Posted by: badanov ||
02/12/2022 00:00 ||
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SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – An individual was wounded, on Friday, in the village of Majadel in the eastern countryside of Suwayda governorate, south Syria, after the Syrian government forces stationed in Shahba checkpoint indiscriminately fired at him.
“Qasem Shalghin was wounded by the government bullets and he was transferred to the National Hospital in the city, local sources told North Press.
The sources stressed “Shalghin’s condition is critical so that he was referred to hospitals of Damascus to complete the treatment.”
Family of the wounded released a statement noting that its son is not wanted by the government and that no arrest warrant is filled against him.
Shalghin committed to the instructions while inspecting his car, “but the government members blackmailed and insulted him on purpose,” the statement read.
The statement added, “For being blackmailed, he drived passing through the checkpoint so that the government members on the checkpoint fired his car wounding him critically.”
Checking the car revealed that it was hit with 14 bullets.
Suwayda governorate witnessed, on Friday, large-scale protesters condemning the deteriorating living conditions and the government decision to lift subsidy for thousands of families.
Reporting by Razan Zeinaddin
Posted by: badanov ||
02/12/2022 00:00 ||
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Areas in the de-escalation zone in #Syria's northwest witnessed military escalation and mutual shelling between the government and opposition factions. #SNA#Turkeyhttps://t.co/jqiGCX66vB
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Areas in the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria witnessed on Friday military escalation and mutual shelling between the Syrian government forces and the opposition factions in different areas.
The Syrian government forces stationed in the surrounding checkpoints targeted the opposition sites in al-Bara town and Benin village while sites in the villages of Kansafra, Sfuhen, Fleifel were targeted with artillery and missiles, military sources of the Syrian opposition told North Press.
Additionally, the government forces bombarded the opposition factions in the villages and towns of A’ajel, Toqad, and the outskirts of Kafr Ta’al, west of Aleppo.
A similar shelling hit the village of Khirbat al-Naqus west of Hama reporting no casualties, according to the same sources.
In response, al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations’ Room, which includes Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) and other factions, targeted sites of the Syrian government forces in Jdaria and Mizanaz villages in the western countryside of Aleppo, military sources told North Press.
Over the past two days, areas in the de-escalation zone witnessed military escalation and mutual shelling between the opposition factions and the government forces in different areas coinciding with intensive flight by the Russian drones over the area.
For months, areas in Syria’s northwest have been witnessing mutual shelling between parties to the conflict in different areas amid news on government military reinforcements to different areas in the region.
Although the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria is subject to a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement signed in March 2020, the area witnesses frequent mutual bombardment despite the entry of the ceasefire into force.
Reporting by Samir Awad
Posted by: badanov ||
02/12/2022 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (al-Nusra)
#1
Is 'mutual shelling' like mutual combat?
Or more like Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom?
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – A member of the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish) was wounded on Friday in an armed attack by unknown individuals in a town east of Deir ez-Zor, east Syria.
Unknown attackers targeted a checkpoint of the Asayish on the western entrance to Abu Hardub town, 80 kilometers east of Deir ez-Zor, with two RPGs, a military source of the Asayish of the town told North Press.
Clashes erupted for about half an hour between the members of the checkpoint and the armed attackers with machineguns wounding an Asayish member with two bullets in the chest, the source added.
The wounded member, who was transferred to a hospital in the town of Abu Hamam, 90 km east of Deir ez-Zor, is suffering from a very critical condition, according to a doctor operating the hospital.
The Asayish intensified patrols inside neighborhoods of the town to pursue the attackers, according to the source.
One of the attackers was wounded during the clashes and the attackers fired a Seeker Missile when Asayish members were trying to pull the wounded before they managed to ran, the source noted.
The eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor has been recently witnessing increasing assassinations launched against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), employees of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), tribal figures and civilians.
During the past two days, the Islamic State Organization (ISIS) claimed responsibility for five attacks against SDF in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
Reporting by Omar Abbdulrahman
Posted by: badanov ||
02/12/2022 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
