Exclusive: Elderly American allegedly tries to traffic $455K worth of cocaine and ketamine across US border



A 75-year-old American citizen was arrested while trying to cross the border into the U.S. after Customs and Border Protection officers discovered numerous packages of alleged illegal narcotics in his vehicle, according to a CBP press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News.

Federal authorities apprehended the suspect, who was driving a 2011 Volvo XC60, on Friday while crossing the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge at the Laredo Port of Entry in Texas.

'Our officers' vigilance and dedication continue to play a critical role in safeguarding the border and preventing narcotics from reaching our streets.'

A CBP officer referred the suspect to a secondary inspection, which involved a canine and nonintrusive inspection system examination. Officers reportedly uncovered 14 packages containing nearly 33 pounds of alleged cocaine and 288 grams of alleged ketamine within the vehicle.

According to CBP, the illegal narcotics have a $455,822 street value.

The suspect was placed in custody, and CBP seized the alleged narcotics and vehicle. Homeland Security Investigations special agents are investigating the seizure.

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Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images

"This seizure of cocaine and ketamine at the Laredo Port of Entry demonstrates our ongoing commitment to protecting our communities from dangerous drugs and illicit activity," stated Alberto Flores, the port director for the Laredo Port of Entry.

"Our officers' vigilance and dedication continue to play a critical role in safeguarding the border and preventing narcotics from reaching our streets," Flores added.

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Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images

CBP credited President Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and CBP officers for stopping illegal activity and facilitating the lawful entry of legitimate travelers across the southern border.

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Former PTA member arrested by feds for possession of child pornography



A former Parent Teacher Association board member in Texas was arrested by federal agents on Thursday for possession of child pornography, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.

Homeland Security Investigations agents, alongside the Corpus Christi Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, executed a search warrant at the home of 42-year-old Benjamin Milfelt.

'This sicko was in several positions of trust with children of his community, including as a Parent Teacher Association board member and elementary school volunteer.'

Law enforcement agents discovered more than 2,000 images of child pornography on Milfelt's phone, the press release claimed.

The DHS stated that Milfelt previously served on the PTA and was a member of WATCH D.O.G.S., a volunteer group at Mireles Elementary School in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Local news outlet KRIS reported that the volunteer group is "part of a national education initiative that brings fathers, grandfathers, and other male role models into school to volunteer."

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Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Corpus Christi Independent School District issued a letter to parents regarding Milfelt's arrest, although he is not named in the letter.

“CCPD notified Mireles of the situation involving the former volunteer, who has not been on school property since prior to the notification," the district's notice read. "Out of respect for the important work of law enforcement, we cannot share any additional information."

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Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

KRIS reported that law enforcement investigators discovered two phones in Milfelt's pickup truck, one of which allegedly contained several explicit videos and images of children, both male and female, between the ages of 10 and 14 years old.

"This sicko was in several positions of trust with children of his community, including as a Parent Teacher Association board member and elementary school volunteer. He possessed thousands of images of child pornography," DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis alleged in a statement. "Thanks to the work of the brave men and women of ICE law enforcement, this disgusting criminal is off the streets and can no longer prey on innocent children. He now is being brought to justice for his heinous crimes against children."

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'Deeply disturbing': Florida man enters plea in monkey torture video case



A Florida man entered a plea at the beginning of the month following a particularly disturbing case involving monkeys investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.

Francisco Javier Ravelo, 36, of Coral Gables, Florida, pleaded guilty on March 2 to distributing videos depicting the torture of monkeys. Ravelo was charged in October 2025.

'It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse.'

The Department of Justice's press release, citing court documents, explains that Ravelo, a U.S. citizen, "created some and administered some online chat groups dedicated to the distribution and discussion of sexual and violent videos depicting monkeys being mutilated and burned, including baby and adult monkeys."

The DOJ said Ravelo personally distributed "more than 40 of these obscene crush videos."

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. law defines "animal crushing" as "actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury."

"In his first term, President Donald J. Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law to end animal crushing," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "If you are involved in this sadistic activity, we will prosecute you."

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said: "Deliberate cruelty to animals is one of the clearest red flags. It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse. The defendant didn't merely view this material. He created and administered online groups devoted to it and distributed dozens of obscene animal torture videos. That conduct fuels a market built on brutality."

HSI New Orleans, HSI Pensacola, the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division investigated the case that led to Ravelo's guilty plea, according to an ICE press release.

Ravelo faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

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Government-paid traffickers? Noem testifies Biden administration funded abuse of migrant kids



Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Biden administration paid child traffickers to sponsor unaccompanied minors.

Moments after Noem was sworn in to testify, a masked protester against immigration enforcement interrupted the hearing by shouting for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The hearing was interrupted a second time by another protester, who yelled out claims that ICE had killed Americans, shouting, “Black lives matter!”

'We’re not going to stop until we find every single one.'

During Noem’s opening statement, she accused Democrats of holding the DHS hostage by leading a government shutdown of the agency, which she called “reckless” and “unnecessary.”

“As a result, critical national security missions, including border security, immigration enforcement, aviation security, disaster response, cybersecurity, and the protection of critical infrastructure, are all being strained. Our ability to provide for a safe and successful World Cup is being hindered as well,” Noem explained.

She noted that over 100,000 DHS employees are “again being asked to work without pay for the third time in just five months.”

RELATED: Tom Homan says Trump administration has located 23,000 of the 300,000 migrant children lost under Biden administration

Photo by HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Noem explained that during the Biden administration’s open-border crisis, unaccompanied minors were "lost" and "not tracked."

She said that it has been “challenging” because the Department of Health and Human Services, under the Biden administration’s leadership, paid sponsors to host the unaccompanied minors.

“And those sponsors, many times, we found instances where they trafficked these children themselves,” Noem continued. “So under that administration, we not only had children that were in this country as a part of a program, the government was paying individuals that were knowingly trafficking them and abusing them.”

She declared that under the Trump administration, these practices have ended, and federal law enforcement agents have found many of these children and attempted to reunite them with their families.

Noem reported that the current administration has located 145,000 of the 450,000 children whom the previous White House was not tracking.

“We’re not going to stop until we find every single one,” Noem declared.

RELATED: ICE exposes Biden's biggest border failure: Kids handed to sex abusers and criminals

Photo by HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) addressed the rise in child abuse material online, noting that in 2023, there were an estimated 104 million images and videos of suspected child sexual abuse reported in the United States.

“With all of these images of kids online, I was shocked to learn recently that hundreds of thousands of children in these images are unidentified,” Hawley told Noem. “The Interpol database alone, 90,000 kids are completely unidentified. In the U.K.’s database, it’s over 200,000.”

“Would it be helpful to you if Congress said, ‘You know what, we’re going to create more analysts, more child abuse expert positions, more forensic analysts, and more prosecutors to give to you to look at these images, figure out who these kids are, and go after their abusers?'” Hawley asked.

“Yes, it’d be incredibly helpful," Noem responded, adding that providing more resources to Homeland Security Investigations would allow the agency to "free more kids from that life of victimhood."

Hawley pledged to introduce legislation to provide the DHS with additional funding to rescue children from trafficking.

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Pam Bondi drops hammer on 30 more anti-ICE agitators accused of storming Minnesota church



The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment on Friday charging 30 more people who allegedly stormed Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, last month.

The arrests are related to an incident that occurred on January 18, when anti-immigration enforcement protesters entered the church, disrupting its Sunday service and intimidating the attendees.

'The First Amendment does not give anyone — regardless of profession, prominence, or politics — license to storm a church.'

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she instructed federal agents to apprehend 25 of the newly indicted individuals, vowing that more arrests would follow.

"YOU CANNOT ATTACK A HOUSE OF WORSHIP. If you do so, you cannot hide from us — we will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you," Bondi wrote in a post on social media. "This Department of Justice STANDS for Christians and all Americans of faith."

FBI Director Kash Patel revealed additional details about the indictment, stating that the individuals had been charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, commonly known as the FACE Act.

RELATED: Anti-ICE radical who took credit for the invasion of Minnesota church ARRESTED by feds

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Patel explained that the FBI had carried out a joint operation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations to arrest the suspects. He also noted that there would be additional arrests.

"This makes 39 indictments in the Cities Church case total so far, including the arrest of Don Lemon and multiple alleged leaders of the riot last month," Patel stated. "Let it be known: This FBI will never tolerate anyone who targets, intimidates, or attacks Americans peacefully exercising their right to worship freely."

Lemon was arrested on January 29 and released the following day. He pleaded not guilty to violations of the FACE Act and conspiracy to violate another's constitutional rights. The other original eight defendants in the case also pleaded not guilty.

RELATED: 'You are on notice!' Don Lemon backs anti-ICE radicals who stormed Saint Paul church — but DOJ vows reckoning

Kash Patel. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

True North Legal, the law firm representing Cities Church, responded to the superseding indictment and additional arrests in a Friday statement.

"The indictment of 30 additional people for their involvement in the invasion of Cities Church sends a clear message: Houses of worship are off limits for those who would use chaos and intimidation to advance a political agenda," Doug Wardlow, director of litigation for True North Legal, stated. "The invasion of Cities Church was a planned, coordinated effort to disrupt a worship service and interfere with religious exercise that placed congregants, including children, in fear for their lives. The First Amendment does not give anyone — regardless of profession, prominence, or politics — license to storm a church and intimidate, threaten, and terrorize families and children worshipping inside."

"Cities Church is grateful for the Department of Justice's continued commitment to enforcing federal law to protect churches and other places of worship. The Department's aggressive prosecution of this case affirms a foundational principle: In the United States, the sanctuary remains a sanctuary," Wardlow added.

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Somali radical accused of sickening salivary assault on federal agents after bizarre 'bananas with rice' speech



Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest on Wednesday of 16 anti-ICE rioters who allegedly assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated, and/or interfered with federal agents while officers were engaged in official duties in Minneapolis.

Among the radicals charged under 18 U.S. Code Section 111 was Nasra Ahmed, a 23-year-old "Somali-American" whose bizarre speech about Somalis' supposed affinity for bananas and rice recently went viral.

'I will carry this on my shoulders.'

Ahmed, who lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, held a press conference with Democrat state Rep. Samakab Hussein at the Minnesota Capitol last week, where she criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, accused federal agents of roughing her up, and did her apparent best to provide some insights into Somali identity.

"I got kidnapped by ICE," said Ahmed, wearing a bandage on a portion of her head not covered by her Islamic veil. "ICE came to my neighborhood, where — my neighborhood is a very Somali neighborhood. It's a predominantly Somali neighborhood. There's many Somalis that live here."

Ahmed indicated that she saw a pair of Somali men running away from federal agents outside an apartment complex on Jan. 14 and decided to get involved. When asked for her ID, she allegedly complied.

Footage appears to show a woman believed to be Ahmed spitting in the face of a federal agent.

Following the apparent salivary attack, Ahmed was reportedly arrested, taken to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, then briefly held on pending federal felony charges at Sherburne County jail in Elk River.

Speaking at the press conference several days after she was released without charges, Ahmed claimed both that an ICE agent used a racial slur in reference to her and that she suffered a concussion during the arrest.

RELATED: Somalia accused of stealing US-funded food aid, destroying warehouse — but caves when Trump admin cuts it off cold

Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"They arrested and detained me for two days, and I was put in county jail," continued the anti-ICE radical. "Then there was this ICE agent who called me a racial slur."

"I am proud to say I have survived ICE," said Ahmed. "Many people are saying, including my family and friends, that I will go down in history, and I will carry this on my shoulders."

While Ahmed's sob story resonated with Democrats such as Rep. Betty McCollum and other anti-ICE liberals, the part of her monologue that went viral online was her commentary on Somalis and "eating bananas with rice":

I'm Somali. I'm proud to be Somali. To me, being Somali isn't just eating bananas with rice. It's a, it's a lot, it's like a, it's a, it's a, it's an interesting thing. It's a — it's very hard to describe what means to be Somali and what it means to be American, but it's like a cultural fusion. It's kind of like the bananas and rice, you know? People don't really see like — you know it's a, it's a, it's — you know, people don't think, "Oh, you can eat bananas with rice," but that's what it's like to be Somali and American. It's like that combination of banana and rice, but you're gonna get what I mean.

Despite the supposed fusion of bananas and rice, the U.S. State Department has paused immigrant visa processing from Somalia, citing it as one of 75 countries "whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates."

The Center for Immigration Studies indicated in a report last month that in Minnesota, approximately 54% of Somali-headed households received food stamps and 73% of Somali households had at least one member on Medicaid. By way of comparison, the figures for native households were 7% and 18%, respectively.

"Somalians ripped off that state for billions of dollars. Billions every year. Billions of dollars, and they contribute nothing. The welfare is like 88%. They contribute nothing," President Donald Trump said last month. "I don't want them in our country; I'll be honest with you. Some might say, 'Oh, that's not politically correct.' I don't care. I don't want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks, and we don't want them in our country."

Ahmed is now hitting up sympathizers for cash, requesting $20,000 on GoFundMe "to support her in this difficult moment." At the time of publication, she had raised nearly $2,000.

Regarding the arrest of Ahmed and other anti-ICE radicals, Bondi noted, "I've said it before and I'll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law."

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The White House Should Go Back To Its Crackdown On Sanctuary Officials

The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment on whether the Trump administration will seek to prosecute public officials for enforcing sanctuary city policies.

Federal agents arrest nearly 500 in immigration raid at Hyundai plant



Homeland Security Investigations announced a massive raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia that resulted in the arrest of hundreds of individuals.

HSI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other federal agencies participated in an operation on Thursday into “unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes.”

‘As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company.’

Federal law enforcement agents arrested 475 individuals who were “illegally present in the United States or in violation of their presence in the United States,” according to Steven Schrank, a special agent in charge of HSI for Georgia and Alabama.

“Yesterday, Homeland Security Investigations, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, executed a judicial search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes,” Schrank stated during a press conference on Friday.

“This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks, and put them on buses,” he continued. “This has been a multi-month criminal investigation where we have developed evidence, conducted interviews, gathered documents, and presented that evidence to the court in order to obtain a judicial search warrant.”

He stated that the arrested individuals, the majority of whom were South Korean nationals, were “working unlawfully.” Schrank explained that some of these individuals had either crossed the border illegally, overstayed their visas, or entered the country through visa waivers but were not permitted to work.

RELATED: After ICE removes illegal workers, job applicants flood meatpacking plant to replace them

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Lee Jaewoong, a spokesman for South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, stated Friday, “The economic activities of our investment companies and the rights and interests of our citizens must not be unjustly violated during U.S. law enforcement proceedings.”

The raided facility was a construction site for HL-GA Battery Company, a joint venture between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution. This plant will supply batteries to the nearby Hyundai electric vehicle manufacturing plant.

The arrested individuals worked for “a variety of different companies that were on the site.” Those determined to be illegally in the U.S. were turned over to ICE custody, according to Schrank, who called the raid “the largest single-site enforcement operation” in HSI’s history.

No criminal charges were announced as of Friday.

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Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Hyundai Motor Company told Blaze News, “We are aware of the recent incident at the HL-GA Battery Company construction site in Bryan County, Georgia. We are closely monitoring the situation and working to understand the specific circumstances.”

“As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company. We prioritize the safety and well-being of everyone working at the site and comply with all laws and regulations wherever we operate,” the statement added.

Blaze News contacted HL-GA Battery Company for comment.

Mary Beth Kennedy, senior public relations specialist with the HL-GA Battery Company, previously told WSAV-TV, “HL-GA Battery Company is cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities regarding activity at our construction site. To assist their work, we have paused construction. We do not have further details at this time.”

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Arizona Leftist Senator Doubles Down On Her ‘Right’ To Tip Off Illegals To ICE Operations

Liberals, including the state's Dem attorney general, have jumped to Analise Ortiz's defense, but the dangers of her actions are very real.

Watch As LA Rioter Is Introduced To Pavement By Homeland Security

'They look like DHS guys to me'