El Paso| A group of minutemen watching the Mexican Border for illegal migrants and drug traffickers, have proceeded to the citizen arrest of two men in an SUV, carrying 1300 pounds of cocaine. The volunteers were completely astonished when the two arrestees pulled out CIA ID cards and explained they were actually carrying the drug as part of their duties and that the cargo belonged to the Central Intelligence Agency.
The incident took place last night, in the Chihuahuan desert, near the Texan city of El Paso. A group of seven minutemen saw a large black SUV drive rapidly across the border. They chased the vehicle in their own trucks and achieved to immobilize it after a chase of more than 15 miles.
The vigilantes arrested the two men on board and called the border patrol, who proceeded to search the vehicle. They discovered dozens of packages of cocaine, totalling an incredible 618.4 kilograms (1363 pounds).
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The search of the vehicle revealed 36 packages of cocaine, all marked with the symbol of the Sinaloa Cartel, representing a black scorpion.
The two men claim to be CIA operatives based in Mexico and explained that the drug was actually part of an operation of the agency. They presented identity cards that seem to validate their claim, but the CIA spokesperson, Dean Boyd, has officially denied any link between the organization and the two men.
“The CIA doesn’t take part in drug smuggling operations at the US-Mexican border” said M. Boyd. “I do not know, for now, if the men are actually affiliated to the agency in any way, but I can tell you the cocaine doesn’t belong to the CIA.”
Both the border patrol officers and minutemen seem unconvinced, however, and many of them seem to believe that the secret service agency is hiding something. The U.S. custom services have even announced a thorough investigation to try and verify the two men’s story.
“Both of them had valid accreditations and a receipt for their cargo” says Shawn Francis Miller, spokesman of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the El Paso sector. “What drug dealer in his right mind, demands a receipt for 1300 pounds of cocaine? There is really something strange about these guys, and we believe the CIA possibly knows more than what it is ready to admit.”
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The custom services have confirmed that the two men, who can’t be identified due to the Intelligence Identities and Protection Act of 1982, did carry valid CIA identifications and that the vehicle was indeed registered as a service vehicle of the organization.
The two men remain under the custody of the custom services at the moment, and are still being interrogated in a facility near El Paso. They are facing charges of possessing, trafficking and importing illegal drugs, and could face other criminal charges once the investigation is over.
Both the FBI and the DEA have announced that they would collaborate with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on this case, which as already attracted a lot of attention in Southern Texas.
