The county may be small and out of the way, but it is the leading port of entry for drug trafficking along the entire American border with Mexico, according Imperial County District Attorney Gilbert Otero.

On Wednesday, August 27, California Attorney General Jerry Brown held a press conference at the Imperial County Enforcement Coordination Center in the city of Imperial to announce 16 indictments and the seizure of 550 pounds of cocaine and marijuana from Operation Silver Fox, which was conducted by his agents from the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement in coordination with the county district attorney and the Imperial County Narcotic Task Force--which is headed by two BNE special agent supervisors.

"Through this very dangerous and courageous undercover operation, the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and the Imperial County Narcotic Task Force has dealt a body blow to this syndicate [Sinaloa cartel] and seized hundreds of pounds of narcotics," said Brown in an official statement.

The operation spanned eight months and included 100 surveillance operations, 30 undercover meetings, and the execution of six search warrants. Agents seized 420 pounds of cocaine and 136 pounds of marijuana with a combined street value of more than $19 million. They also confiscated $1.7 million in U.S. currency and nine firearms.

Front-page news

The day before Brown's press conference, the Imperial County Narcotic Task Force, which is led by BNE Senior Commander Mike Loyd and Commander John Moreno made front-page news with the arrest of a Seeley man after another surveillance operation.

The ICNTF is California's oldest narcotic task force, and the work it did in the Seeley case, which made the front page of the Imperial Valley Press, is something it does routinely. "Operation Silver Fox was spectacular, and I can't praise the dangerous work our agents did highly enough," said Special Agent Alan Barcelona, president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association. "What Mike and John's group did in the Seeley case gave the attorney general a great glimpse into the range of work Special Agents do. It was a great reminder for him, and I know he appreciated it."

Barcelona and Loyd had encouraged the attorney general to make the visit to his troops in Imperial County, and the timing of the conclusion of the two surveillance operations was an added bonus.

Brown listens to Special Agents

Right after the arrest in the Seeley operation and the night before the Operation Silver Fox announcement, Brown spent more than two hours talking with and listening to the concerns of DOJ Special Agents at ICNTF headquarters. Mike Loyd, who is also president of the CSLEA-affiliated Association of Special Agents-Department of Justice,  discussed several issues with Brown that are of significant concern to the Association of Special Agents. For his part, Brown listened intently, asked questions, and made notes to follow up on some of the information he received.

More information about Operation Silver Fox can be read at the first link below. Below it is another link to the attorney general's official news release on Operation Silver Fox.

For more information:

http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/08/27/local_news/news01.txt

http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1791