Backpacks containing $1.1 million of cocaine discovered in the wilderness near Canadian border
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents assigned to a region near the Canadian border in Washington found two backpacks left out in the woods containing an estimated $1.1 million of cocaine, officials said. Image via U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(NEW YORK) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents assigned to a region near the Canadian border in Washington found two backpacks left out in the woods containing an estimated $1.1 million of cocaine, officials said.
The incident occurred when agents on patrol in the Blaine Sector of Washington, approximately 110 miles north of Seattle, discovered two black backpacks weighing 78 pounds lying on the ground in a wooded area near the border in Lynden, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection released on Monday.
When the agents looked inside, they found “30 brick-like packages containing a white powdery substance,” officials said. The substance was later tested and determined to be cocaine.
“Thanks to the vigilance of Blaine Sector Border Patrol agents these dangerous narcotics were prevented from reaching our communities,” said Chief Patrol Agent Rosario “Pete” Vasquez. “Our agents work tirelessly day in and day out to protect this nation, and this seizure highlights that crucial commitment.”
The narcotics were immediately turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, officials said.
Authorities did not reveal how the bags got there, who they might belong to or if any arrests have been made in connection to the case.
An ABC News graphic shows the fire risk forecast in Southern California on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. Via ABC News.
(LOS ANGELES) — A damaging Santa Ana wind event was peaking early Wednesday and winds were expected to stay strong through early afternoon in Southern California, fueling three wildfires that were quickly expanding early Wednesday around the Los Angeles metro area.
The Palisades Fire had grown to at about 2,921 acres, the Eaton Fire was about 1,000 acres and the Hurst Fire was about 500 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. All were zero percent contained.
Wind gusts were recorded at 99 mph on Mt. Lukens in the Eastern San Gabriel Mountains, at 98 mph on Saddle Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains and at 84 mph at Hollywood Burbank Airport.
Relative humidity in the area is very low, less than 10%. It has been very dry in Los Angeles, in fact October through December period was the sixth driest on record last year.
Downtown Los Angeles only saw about 0.16 inches of rain since Oct. 1, where it usually sees as much as about 4.53 inches.
An ABC News graphic shows the fire forecast in Southern California on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.
An extreme fire risk warning was issued from Malibu to Burbank, along with Simi Valley and San Fernando.
A “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning was set to continue for Los Angeles until 4 p.m. PST on Wednesday.
The same type of warning was also issued for Orange County, and the damaging winds are expected to extend all the way to San Diego county.
A warning of critical fire danger was extended all the way to east of San Diego.
On Thursday and Friday, winds will begin to relax and relative humidity will begin to climb.
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory is already beginning to elicit requests from his supporters charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol for delays in their cases due to the potential they could be pardoned after Trump’s inauguration.
Attorneys for Christopher Carnell, a 21-year-old defendant from North Carolina who was found guilty earlier this year of felony and misdemeanor charges over his participation in the Capitol assault, requested Wednesday morning that D.C. District Judge Beryl Howell delay a status hearing in his case scheduled for later this week, citing Trump’s past promises to pardon his supporters.
“Throughout his campaign, President-elect Trump made multiple clemency promises to the January 6 defendants, particularly to those who were nonviolent participants,” their filing said. “Mr. Carnell, who was an 18 year old nonviolent entrant into the Capitol on January 6, is expecting to be relieved of the criminal prosecution that he is currently facing when the new administration takes office.”
Judge Howell denied Carnell’s request to delay his status hearing in an order on Wednesday.
The filing had stated that Carnell’s attorneys reached out to Trump’s office to get further information “regarding the timing and expected scope of clemency actions relevant to his case.”
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,500 people across the country in the last four years over their roles in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, part of what the Justice Department has described as one of the largest criminal investigations in its history.
The D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office has continued to arrest individuals on a near-daily basis, many of whom have been charged with carrying out violent assaults on police protecting the building.
In addition to Trump’s promises to pardon many of those who participated in the attack, it’s widely expected the ongoing criminal investigation will be shuttered once Trump takes office.
(SEATTLE, Wash.) — A month after a woman was caught stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight headed to France, ABC News has confirmed another unticketed individual was caught on a flight headed to Hawaii, this time on Christmas Eve.
The recent stowaway was apprehended after boarding a flight from Seattle to Honolulu on Dec. 24, according to the airline.
Delta flight 487 was taxiing for departure when it returned to the gate after the crew learned of an unticketed passenger onboard. The identity of the individual has not been released.
“As there are no matters more important than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended,” Delta said in a statement to ABC News.
The flight was delayed more than two hours as TSA conducted additional security checks and rescreened all passengers, according to the airline.
Law enforcement responded to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and detained the unticketed passenger.
According to the airport officials, the stowaway exited the plane after it returned to the gate, and the Port of Seattle Police located them in a terminal restroom with the help of video surveillance.
The passenger was arrested for trespassing and booked into South Correctional Entity jail, according to Seattle Tacoma International Airport authorities.
In their investigation, airport authorities found that the stowaway had gotten through a TSA security checkpoint the evening before the flight without a boarding pass but was properly screened otherwise.
TSA said in a statement to ABC News it is working with the Port of Seattle Police on this incident.
Additionally, Delta said the investigation is ongoing, but preliminary findings suggest the passenger boarded the plane without showing a boarding pass at the gate.
News of the second Delta Air Lines stowaway comes after Svetlana Dali, a Russian national, was caught stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight from the United States to France in November.
Dali had snuck aboard Delta Flight 264, which departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and was bound for Charles-de-Gaulle International Airport in Paris.
According to a statement from the French Interior Ministry at the time, “She was not admitted to French territory due to lack of a valid travel document (visa) and was placed in the waiting area for the time necessary for her re-routing to the United States since she held a valid US residence permit.”
Just over a week later, Dali was arrested again on Dec. 4 after cutting off her ankle monitor and trying to sneak into Canada, law enforcement sources told ABC News at the time.
The person she was staying with in Philadelphia discovered the bracelet cut and alerted authorities.
Dali was apprehended in Buffalo, New York, while aboard a Greyhound bus trying to cross into Canada.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
