News and reports from the Department of Homeland Security.

Laredo Sector Border Patrol Zapata Station initiates their Youth of the Month program for August and September.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at El Paso area ports of entry intercepted 31 pounds of methamphetamine and 41 pounds of cocaine over the weekend.

With the upcoming All Souls Day (Día de los Muertos) observance on the horizon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in El Paso are advising the traveling public that certain agricultural items used in holiday decorations are prohibited from entry to the U.S. and can carry harmful pests and disease, such as the citrus greening disease.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recognized the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA) Board on its 20th anniversary, Nov. 3.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners from across the United States, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), executed a nationwide, coordinated takedown Nov. 2 of leaders and associates of a national network of thieves, dealers, and processors for their roles in conspiracies involving stolen catalytic converters sold to a metal refinery for tens of millions of dollars.

A south Texas man admitted to smuggling noncitizens who were trapped in a travel trailer, following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Corpus Christi and the U.S. Border Patrol (BP).

A southeast Texas man admitted to drug trafficking charges Nov. 1, following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Corpus Christi with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Corpus Christi Police Department.

A south Texas man was sentenced to prison for conspiring to transport people in a sealed trailer, following an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Border Patrol, Laredo Sector

On Sept. 21, a Tucson federal grand jury returned an indictment charging 49 firearms-related offenses against 12 people following a multiagency investigation, which included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

A local man was sentenced in federal court Nov. 1, for his role in a sex trafficking conspiracy that involved four victims, including two teenagers following a Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), joint law enforcement partner investigation.

An investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Charleston landed a 55-year-old Logan-area man in prison for child pornography. Raymond Dugan was sentenced on Oct. 27, to four years and six months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for accessing with the intent to view prepubescent child pornography.

On Sept. 15, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging 51 firearms-related offenses against 10 men, following a multiagency investigation, which included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations.

A Texas woman plead guilty Nov. 2, for illegally smuggling a spider monkey, following an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kingsville Police Department.

A local man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Oct. 27, based on his criminal convictions for filming himself sexually abusing three children under the age of nine, and then distributing the child pornography to others over the internet, announced Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar.

A Phoenix-area man was sentenced Oct. 21 to 188 months in prison for child exploitation offenses following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Border Patrol investigation.