SAN ANTONIO, TX - In a development that will come as a shock to few Law Enforcement Today readers, the spot of a recent illegal immigration bust was already being heavily surveilled by the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) because one of the illegal aliens living there was allegedly manufacturing and selling cocaine.
New details are emerging about the recent November 16 North Side raid that led to more than 150 immigrants being detained. As San Antonio’s ABC affiliate KSAT reported, it turns out the site of the bust had already been under surveillance by several different agencies since at least September.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KSAT, the FBI and Texas DPS were conducting surveillance on a suspected drug dealer at the same San Pedro Avenue location weeks before the multi-agency operation unfolded.
The suspect, 37-year-old Luis Amador Castillo-Hernandez, was arrested after investigators arranged two controlled drug buys at the location over the past two months.
According to the affidavit, a cooperating individual working with DPS exchanged $150 for three small bags of cocaine on September 27, which later tested positive for 1.7 grams of the narcotic. A second buy took place on November 9, this time involving $130 in DPS funds in exchange for four baggies containing 1.6 grams.
Agents noted that Castillo-Hernandez was locally known for distributing cocaine at after-hours parties operating in the area.
Just one week after the second undercover buy, a much larger North Side raid kicked off at an unauthorized nightclub near San Pedro Avenue and Basse Road.
Fourteen law enforcement agencies participated, including members of the newly formed Homeland Security Task Force South Texas, which officials say is focused on dismantling criminal networks operating across the region.
More than 150 immigrants from Venezuela, Honduras, Mexico, and other South American countries were taken into ICE custody during the operation, and investigators believe several of those detained may have ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Naturally, it wasn’t long before the usual crowd chimed in.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, joined by Democratic congressmen Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar, immediately demanded “answers” from federal authorities about the raid.
All three have made careers out of undermining ICE and resisting immigration enforcement at every turn, and this case was no exception. They argued the city needs clarity to ensure both “public safety and public trust,” though the affidavit’s details suggest that at least some of the individuals at the location were involved in more than simply being in the country unlawfully.
Even with evidence that the location housed a suspected cocaine distributor and individuals with ties to one of South America’s most vicious and notorious gangs, their statements focused not on public safety or the criminal conduct uncovered, but on the immigration statuses of the people taken into custody.
Apparently, they all conveniently forgot that the location was being surveilled over the ongoing drug activity well before ICE came into the picture.
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