OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:01 PM – Friday, June 13, 2025

A major law enforcement operation targeting a suspected cartel member in Arizona, who was found in possession of a substantial cache of narcotics and four illegally owned firearms, was disrupted by individuals who mistakenly assumed the raid was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action, according to a sheriff.

Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple stated that investigators had spent approximately six months building the case against the illegal alien suspect, who had re-entered the United States unlawfully after a prior deportation.

However, the sheriff declined to identify the suspected cartel member who was taken into custody, and he did not disclose the specific charges filed against him.

When authorities finally executed the raid on his residence, in southwest Tucson late on Wednesday, they uncovered “millions of fentanyl pills, along with 32 pounds of cocaine, 22 pounds of methamphetamine, and four firearms,” though there was also some unforeseen resistance and pushback.

“Here’s the crazy part — some idiots, thinking it was an ICE raid, came down and protested,” the sheriff declared.

Video footage depicted a crowd—many with their faces covered in masks—gathered outside the raided residence, holding signs that read “Abolish ICE.” According to the sheriff, these individuals attempted to obstruct law enforcement efforts to tow the suspect’s vehicle.

The angry protesters, several of whom carried “Abolish ICE” signs, actively interfered with authorities as they attempted to seize the suspect’s truck, Sheriff Teeple told KGUN9.

“You want to protest this not getting off the streets? That’s insane,” he added.

He noted that, although the protesters seemed to have assumed the operation was a routine illegal immigration enforcement action, they expressed indifference and stoicism even after being informed of the gravity of the situation.

“Even when it was explained to them [protesters] that this was a criminal case, where we were taking a criminal drug smuggler, a known felon off the street and keeping the community safe, they still sat there and protested because they don’t have an independent thought,” Teeple told 13 News.

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