ICE, Border Task Force Seizes IEDs, Weapons in Texas

A stockpile of assault weapons seized during a raid in Laredo, Texas adjacent to the US-Mexico border. ICE Photo

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICE) — Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers announced that ICE agents and other officers assigned to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) in Laredo, Texas, had seized materials for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and large quantities of automatic and semiautomatic weapons, ammunition, narcotics and cash.

BEST task force officers from ICE, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Laredo Police Department executed a search warrant at a location in Laredo. The search revealed two completed IEDs and materials for making approximately 33 more IEDs. Agents found 300 primers, 1,280 rounds of ammunition, five grenade shells, nine pipes with end caps, 26 grenade triggers (14 with fuses and primers attached), 31 grenade spoons, 40 grenade pins, 19 black powder casings, as well as 65 firearm magazines, a silencer and other firearms components.

A stockpile of assault weapons seized during a raid in Laredo, Texas adjacent to the US-Mexico border. ICE Photo

“Keeping explosives and other high-powered weaponry out of the hands of violent criminal organizations is a central focus of the new Border Enforcement Security Task Force in Laredo. As these seizures and arrests demonstrate, ICE is working day-and-night with its task force partners to stem the tide of violence that has been ravaging border communities in South Texas in recent months,” said ICE Assistant Secretary Myers.

Formerly known as “Operation Black Jack,” BEST is a Homeland Security-led, intelligence-driven task force that was created in Laredo in July 2005. Officers from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are collocated in the task force to share information and target the leadership and supporting infrastructure of violent criminal organizations operating in the Laredo/ Nuevo Laredo area. Since its inception, BEST has arrested 28 individuals and seized numerous assault rifles, handguns, silencers, a large quantity of weapons components and ammunition, as well as roughly 700 pounds of marijuana, 336 pounds of cocaine, 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine and roughly $1.14 million.

Hand grenades and a bucket of ammunition rounds seized during a raid in Laredo, Texas adjacent to the US-Mexico border. ICE Photo

The day before the seizure of the IEDs, members of the BEST task force arrested an accused weapons dealer/manufacturer in Laredo and found a weapons cache at his home. Agents arrested the 30-year-old man for federal firearms violations after he allegedly sold a fully automatic AK-47 assault rifle and cocaine to an undercover ICE agent. A search of his home revealed six kits to assemble fully automatic weapons and at least 20 assembled firearms, including AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles. Agents also found 26 firearm magazines, two silencers, two bullet-proof vests, sniper scopes, police scanners, pin-hole cameras, 2,600 rounds of ammunition, quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and cash.

In addition, on January 12, BEST team members arrested another Laredo resident after executing a search warrant on his home where they found firearms and narcotics. Agents seized roughly 400 pounds of marijuana, two AK-47 assault weapons, two Uzi assault weapons, a silencer and approximately $5,000.

Materials used to make IEDs seized during a raid in Laredo, Texas adjacent to the US-Mexico border. ICE Photo

BEST in Laredo is comprised of agents and officers from ICE, ATF, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Laredo Police Department and other state and local law enforcement agencies. The United States Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office also provide significant support to BEST.

In January, DHS announced that several new BEST task forces would be created along the border based on the Laredo BEST model. The new task forces will focus on every element of the enforcement process, from interdiction to prosecution and removal, with the goal of eliminating the top leadership and supporting infrastructures that sustain cross-border criminal organizations. The next BEST will be stood up in Arizona, after DHS conducts a threat assessment of that area. DHS will conduct similar assessments as it moves forward in establishing more task forces and will constantly measure results in order to refine and focus its enforcement actions.