Somerville, MA
Politics
Tufts Student Arrested By Agents In Somerville, Moved To Louisiana Detention Center: Report Tufts Student Arrested By Agents In Somerville, Moved To Louisiana Detention Center: Report
Tufts Student Arrested By Agents In Somerville, Moved To Louisiana Detention Center: Report A Tufts University student who was arrested by federal agents in Massachusetts last week was later located in a detention center more than 1,500 miles away in Louisiana, CNN reported. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was walking to meet friends for dinner after breaking her Ramadan fast on Tuesday, March 25, in Somerville, Massachusetts, when six plainclothes officers approached her and took her into custody. Officers hid their faces with cloth coverings and masks before putting her in handcuffs and into the back of an unmarked police car.  The incident was recorded on surveillance video and circul…

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by Josh Lanier
Chambersburg, PA
News
Egg Smuggling Soars As US Prices Spike, Fentanyl Seizures Drop: CBP Egg Smuggling Soars As US Prices Spike, Fentanyl Seizures Drop: CBP
Egg Smuggling Soars As US Prices Spike, Fentanyl Seizures Drop: CBP U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is cracking down on a surprising contraband at the border—eggs. Egg-related seizures have surged 116% in the first two months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, with officials reporting 3,254 interceptions, according to CBP data. The spike comes as U.S. egg prices continue to soar, driven by a historic avian flu outbreak decimating poultry farms nationwide. Meanwhile, fentanyl seizures have fallen 32% year-over-year. While President Donald Trump has vowed to curb fentanyl trafficking, the more immediate smuggling crisis appears to be brea…

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by Jillian Pikora
Harvard, MA
News
US Cracking Down On Egg Smuggling From Mexico As Prices Soar US Cracking Down On Egg Smuggling From Mexico As Prices Soar
US Cracking Down On Egg Smuggling From Mexico As Prices Soar With egg prices at record highs, authorities are seeing a sharp increase in smuggling operations attempting to bring eggs across the US-Mexico border. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported a surge in egg seizures, as rising costs drive some travelers to attempt sneaking in eggs despite strict import bans. The San Diego Field Office said Thursday, Feb. 27, that egg interceptions have increased 158 percent since the start of the 2024 fiscal year. The main culprit behind soaring egg prices? A devastating avian flu outbreak that has affected 166 million birds in the US since …

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by Joe Lombardi
Brookville-Old Westbury, NY
News
$250K In Jewels, Gold, Heirlooms Stolen By NJ Burglary Crew In Old Westbury: US Marshals $250K In Jewels, Gold, Heirlooms Stolen By NJ Burglary Crew In Old Westbury: US Marshals
$250K In Jewels, Gold, Heirlooms Stolen By NJ Burglary Crew In Old Westbury: US Marshals A crew of burglars accused of ransacking luxury homes in New York and stealing over $250,000 in jewelry, gold, and family heirlooms has been busted in New Jersey, Nassau County police announced. David Fernando Moreno Hernandez, Juan Pablo Orjuela-Saavedra, and Ivan Stewar Ramirez-Villalobos, all Colombian nationals based in Newark and East Orange, are accused of breaking into homes in Muttontown and Old Westbury over several months, detectives said in a release on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. The trio allegedly shattered rear windows and glass doors to enter unoccupied homes under cover of ni…

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by Jillian Pikora
Sterling, VA
News
257 Pounds Of Illegal Opium Poppy Pods Seized At Dulles Airport: CBP 257 Pounds Of Illegal Opium Poppy Pods Seized At Dulles Airport: CBP
257 Pounds Of Illegal Opium Poppy Pods Seized At Dulles Airport: CBP It may be harvest season in Spain, but US Customs and Border Protection officers made sure a massive shipment of illegal goods never took root in the US. CBP officials announced that officers at Washington Dulles International Airport intercepted more than 250 pounds of opium poppy pods that arrived last week in 81 separate air cargo shipments from Madrid, Spain. Disguised as “ornamental decora craft balls,” the poppy pods—often used to make highly addictive and dangerous “poppy tea”—were headed to multiple addresses across the country. On Friday, Feb. 21, CBP officers seized 35 parcels o…

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by Zak Failla
Worcester, MA
News
Ex-Mass Cop Busted in $3M Fake Luxury Watch Conspiracy Gets 60 Days In Jail: Feds Ex-Mass Cop Busted in $3M Fake Luxury Watch Conspiracy Gets 60 Days In Jail: Feds
Ex-Mass Cop Busted in $3M Fake Luxury Watch Conspiracy Gets 60 Days In Jail: Feds If you bought a luxury watch from a Massachusetts police officer for a steal, you may have been duped. That’s what former cop Klevis Nako, 24, admitted to in a Connecticut federal court this week, according to federal authorities. Nako was convicted of conspiracy to sell counterfeit goods after he imported fake designer watches from China and sold them across the U.S. through Instagram and Facebook, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut said. He has been sentenced to 60 days in federal prison, authorities said. His operation unraveled after federal agents intercepted dozens of shipments and con…

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by Josh Lanier
Drexel Hill-Upper Darby, PA
Police & Fire
$1.4M In Counterfeit PA Inspection Stickers From Israel Siezed By US Customs $1.4M In Counterfeit PA Inspection Stickers From Israel Siezed By US Customs
$1.4M In Counterfeit PA Inspection Stickers From Israel Siezed By US Customs U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Philadelphia intercepted 22,000 counterfeit Pennsylvania vehicle inspection stickers worth $1.4 million in two shipments from Israel, officials announced Thursday, Dec. 26. The counterfeit stickers, shipped to an address in Philadelphia, were seized on Dec. 16, following Pennsylvania authorities’ confirmation that the decals were fraudulent, CBP said in a release. CBP officers identified the suspicious inspection stickers in two parcels—one containing 10,000 decals on Nov. 26, and another with 12,000 decals on Dec. 9. Both shipments were deta…

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by Jillian Pikora
Sterling, VA
News
Rare Bugs Intercepted at Dulles International Airport: First-In-Port, Decades-Old Find: CBP Rare Bugs Intercepted at Dulles International Airport: First-In-Port, Decades-Old Find: CBP
Rare Bugs Intercepted at Dulles International Airport: First-In-Port, Decades-Old Find: CBP Agriculture specialists at Washington Dulles International Airport made a major discovery while inspecting flower imports from South Africa, intercepting two invasive insect pests that could potentially wreak havoc on American agriculture. The pests include a first-in-port find of Caprhiobia sp. (Lygaeidae), a destructive plant bug, and Oxycarenus maculatus, or the Protea seed bug, which has not been seen in the area since 1984, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The bugs were discovered in an October shipment of 188 protea and chamelaucium cut-stem flowers destined for K…

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
News
71 Pounds Of London-Bound Pot Seized From Marijuana Mule At Dulles Airport: CBS 71 Pounds Of London-Bound Pot Seized From Marijuana Mule At Dulles Airport: CBS
71 Pounds Of London-Bound Pot Seized From Marijuana Mule At Dulles Airport: CBS A Texas woman was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport after authorities found more than 71 pounds of marijuana in her luggage, officials said. Du Li Park, 30, of The Colony, Texas, was stopped on Nov. 23 as US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers inspected baggage for a London-bound flight, leading to an unexpected discovery.  According to CBP, two hard-sided suitcases belonging to Park contained 60 vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana, weighing a combined 71 pounds and 11 ounces (32.52 kilograms). The recovered marijuana at Dulles International Airport. US …

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
News
Sweet Smuggle: Dulles CBP Officers Uncover Cocaine Hidden In Hot Chocolate Packages Sweet Smuggle: Dulles CBP Officers Uncover Cocaine Hidden In Hot Chocolate Packages
Sweet Smuggle: Dulles CBP Officers Uncover Cocaine Hidden In Hot Chocolate Packages US Customs and Border Protection agents seized a shipment at Dulles Airport destined for Northern Virginia filled with multiple packages of hot chocolate that were filled with a white substance that was not tiny marshmallows. More than 28 pounds of cocaine that was concealed inside of 10 packages of hot chocolate beverage base will never make it to the streets after agents found it while examining a food shipment brought into the country by a Guatemalan courier. According to officials, federal authorities initially detained the courier; however, authorities released the courier on Tues…

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by Zak Failla
White Plains, NY
News
Iranian Operative, 2 NY Associates Nabbed In Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says Iranian Operative, 2 NY Associates Nabbed In Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says
Iranian Operative, 2 NY Associates Nabbed In Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says An Iranian operative and two associates living in America have been charged in a murder-for-hire plot targeting United States citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump. Federal authorities have charged Farhad Shakeri, an alleged operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with two New York City associates in a plot to assassinate a US citizen critical of the Iranian government.  The case highlights the continued threat posed by Iran’s attempts to silence dissidents and even target top US. officials. According to the Department of Justice criminal complai…

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by Joe Lombardi
Sterling, VA
News
Heroin Curiously Stashed By Guatemalan Courier Intercepted At Dulles International Airport: CBP Heroin Curiously Stashed By Guatemalan Courier Intercepted At Dulles International Airport: CBP
Heroin Curiously Stashed By Guatemalan Courier Intercepted At Dulles International Airport: CBP US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Washington Dulles International Airport kept more than $50,000 worth of heroin from being brought into Virginia, officials say. Maria Jose Recinos Rodriguez, 31, a Guatemalan national, wanted an extra kick with her coffee after being busted attempting to conceal heroin in coffee grounds she traveled into the country with. According to a CBP spokesperson, on Sunday, officers discovered nearly two pounds of heroin concealed in a courier shipment at the airport. Investigators say that Recinos Rodriguez arrived on Oct. 27 from Guatemala C…

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by Zak Failla