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Found While Hiking: Stash of AK-47s
Townhall.com ^ | July 2, 2012 | Katie Pavlich

Posted on 07/02/2012 6:18:03 PM PDT by Kaslin

No big deal....despite the fact that a stash of AK-47s was found along a hiking trail in not Colombia, not Mexico but in....Arizona.

A hiker in the Madera Canyon area found three assault rifles in a black trash bag one mile north of Old Baldy Trail.

After receiving a report of the discovery on Wednesday, June 20, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office determined that the rifles were found in Santa Cruz County, and notified the local sheriff’s office.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies then went to the site and recovered what turned out to be a stash of AK-47 assault rifles.

Lt. Raoul Rodriguez said the rifles were “badly rusted” and had “obviously been there for quite some time.” Four rifle magazines were also recovered.

Hikers apparently are now subject to Mexican drug cartels stashing powerful weapons along areas where they used to be able to safely enjoy being outdoors. I'll be interested to know if any of these guns are linked to Operation Fast and Furious however, even if they are, I doubt ATF will be letting us know because after all, more Fast and Furious weapons traced means more bad PR for Holder's Justice Department.

On a more serious note, this is an example of what local law enforcement is up against on a daily basis. It's a war down there. Learn more by reading about my ride along with a Pinal County Sheriff's SWAT Team member. 

Nearby is the infamous Vekol Valley, the largest hotbed of drug and human smuggling in the United States and where a Pinal County Deputy was shot in April 2010. Vekol is surrounded by nasty mountain ranges on both sides. There is wide-open desert starting from mile marker 160 on I-8 and stretching all the way to Mexico. Because of the terrain, Vekol acts as a funnel. As we drove into the area, I could feel that it just wasn’t a safe place to be.

Cartels also take advantage of the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation on the west side of Vekol Valley. They use it as an entry point, marry into Indian families so they can live on the reservation and, if a village is small enough, cartel members will simply walk in and take property by lethal force.

While we were driving near Vekol, Thomas explained the “terrain” problem to me after pulling off the side of the road to show me the “Travel Caution: Smuggling and Illegal Immigration May Be Encountered in This Area" sign provided by Homeland Security. (Remember, according to Janet Napolitano, the border is secure.) He said the cartels have a vast intelligence network. Men known as “spotters” sit up on the top of hills and mountains with cell phones and radios, calling drug running crews in the U.S. and Mexico about where Sheriff vehicles are located and where Border Patrol is cruising. Usually, as soon as Thomas shows up on patrol, the cartels are watching and know exactly where he is. For the spotters, failing to identify where U.S. authorities are located can result in a beating or even death. If a spotter calls into the boss in Mexico or down the road, says that they are clear to come through with a load, but then the authorities show up and seize the load, that spotter pays the price for the loss.

But these cartels aren’t just targeting Border Patrol. U.S. citizens travelling along I-8 who stop for a restroom break often find themselves carjacked right off the road. The area can’t be used for camping, hiking or hunting as it used to be because the area is dangerous and drug and human smugglers are carrying high-powered weapons like AK-47s.

“If you see too much you may get killed out here because they [cartel members] don’t want witnesses,” Thomas said.



TOPICS: Editorial; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: 2deadfeds; 300deadmexicans; ak47s; aliens; arizona; atf; banglist; borderwars; cache; cartel; dea; dhs; doj; drugrunners; fastandfurious; fbi; gunrunner; gunwalker; holder; humansmuggling; ice; murdergate; obama
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1 posted on 07/02/2012 6:18:07 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

I would grab 2 of them and shut up! and hope I didn’t lose them in an upcoming canoeing accident...


2 posted on 07/02/2012 6:19:40 PM PDT by Freedom_Is_Not_Free (REPEAL OBAMACARE. Nothing else matters.)
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To: Kaslin

Imagine that...


3 posted on 07/02/2012 6:20:45 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo (FR: Now, More Than Ever.)
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To: Kaslin

Bush Did It !!!!


4 posted on 07/02/2012 6:21:31 PM PDT by eglman
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To: Kaslin

If it had happened to me....

It would be a paradox, I wouldn’t be posting, nobody would know.


5 posted on 07/02/2012 6:22:24 PM PDT by Eye of Unk (Is your state Obamacare free yet?)
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To: Kaslin

Very bad reaction on the part of the hiker.


6 posted on 07/02/2012 6:22:57 PM PDT by elkfersupper ( Member of the Original Defiant Class)
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To: Jet Jaguar; NorwegianViking; ExTexasRedhead; HollyB; FromLori; EricTheRed_VocalMinority; ...

The list, Ping

Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list

http://www.nachumlist.com/


7 posted on 07/02/2012 6:23:30 PM PDT by Nachum (The complete Obama list at www.nachumlist.com)
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To: Kaslin

So if the media says they were AK-47s, any guesses what they really were? Paintball guns? Ruger Mini-22s? Slingshots? Car parts?


8 posted on 07/02/2012 6:23:50 PM PDT by mnehring
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

can’t be bothered with AK-47s ,they have work permits to issue


9 posted on 07/02/2012 6:23:57 PM PDT by molson209
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To: Freedom_Is_Not_Free

That would be my first thought as well. Keep 2, at least, and report the third at worst, so at least they’re aware of activity in the area.


10 posted on 07/02/2012 6:24:12 PM PDT by RaisingCain
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

“badly rusted”.

There’s probably a story here...some guy brought them out there five years ago for a purpose. He got whacked by someone else, and the weapons were lost to ‘history’.

Now, it would be interesting to know if they were bought within the US and who was the original owner, if that were true.


11 posted on 07/02/2012 6:26:02 PM PDT by pepsionice
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

Thanks Kaslin.


12 posted on 07/02/2012 6:26:07 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Kaslin

Don’t ever report such a find to he current administrations agents.

You will be killed and the democrats will do everything in their power to stop any murder investigation.


13 posted on 07/02/2012 6:26:18 PM PDT by NoLibZone (We must get down on our knees each day and thank God that McCain/Palin didn't win in '08.)
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To: mnehring
So if the media says they were AK-47s, any guesses what they really were? Paintball guns? Ruger Mini-22s? Slingshots? Car parts?

No way to tell without pics.


14 posted on 07/02/2012 6:27:46 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (My dog, yes. My wife, maybe. My gun....NEVER!)
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To: RaisingCain

You’re assuming there were only three to begin with! Maybe he kept the non-rusted specimens.


15 posted on 07/02/2012 6:28:28 PM PDT by cbvanb
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To: Kaslin

Random bags of free guns?

It’s freaking Christmas!


16 posted on 07/02/2012 6:28:36 PM PDT by TSgt (The only reason I have one in the chamber at all times, is because it is impossible to have two in.)
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To: Kaslin

Eric Witholder’s absence during the period in question was noted... ;-)


17 posted on 07/02/2012 6:28:40 PM PDT by rockrr (Everything is different now...)
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To: NoLibZone

Per Janet’s order you must run and hide—until bad man is gone.


18 posted on 07/02/2012 6:28:40 PM PDT by eglman
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To: Kaslin

They’re just undocumented home defense tools.


19 posted on 07/02/2012 6:28:45 PM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult (Liberals make unrealistic demands on reality and reality doesn't oblige them.)
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To: RaisingCain

I would report them as they could be important. I would also file a claim to them as lost property. If the owners not found they should be mine.

Of course actually getting them back would be highly unlikely even if the law says they should.


20 posted on 07/02/2012 6:29:50 PM PDT by yarddog
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