They should have put this protest on ice.
A massive raid on a suspected cartel member found with a huge stockpile of drugs and guns was interrupted by “idiots” who thought it was “an ICE raid,” according to a sheriff.
Investigators had spent around six months investigating the unidentified cartel member, who had crept back into the country despite previously being deported, according to Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple.
When they finally raided his home in Southwest Tucson late Wednesday, they found millions of fentanyl pills as well as 32 pounds of cocaine, 22 pounds of meth, four guns — and some unexpected opposition.
“Here’s the crazy part — some idiots, thinking it was an ICE raid, came down and protested,” the sheriff said.
Video shows a crowd — many covering their faces — holding “Abolish ICE” signs outside the raided house. Some tried to stop authorities towing the suspect’s truck, according to the sheriff.
The protesters — some holding “Abolish ICE signs — prevented authorities from towing the suspect’s truck, the sheriff told KGUN9.
Holding up some of the dangerous drug haul found in the raid, the sheriff said: “You want to protest this not getting off the streets? That’s insane.”
The sheriff did not identify the suspected cartel member who was arrested, nor list the charges he faces.
He said that even though the protesters appeared to have assumed the raid was a straight-forward immigration matter, they didn’t care when told how serious it was.
“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.
