BONUS POD: Operation Restore Justice Exposes Child Predators plus Largest Drug Seizure in US History
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You can't comprehend that cities and states would be so demented to do something like this, to let these violent criminals. Trendyagua is a terrorist organization. Sinaloa is a terrorist organization. MS-13 is a terrorist organization. You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Good Thursday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. Ben Ferguson with you. And we have two

major stories for you this morning coming from the Trump administration. The Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI Director Kash Patel announcing the results of Operation Restore Justice, a nationwide initiative targeting sex, child,

And the big question is, how were there so many people to catch and why did the Democrats do nothing to stop this when they were in charge? We'll have the details on that story for you first. Also, in another massive win, the Sinaloa cartel was behind the largest fetishism

Story number one. The question every American should be asking themselves right now is this.

Why did our federal government not act sooner? Why did the Biden administration turn a blind eye on purpose to the horrific activities that were happening in this country that they knew about? Well, thank goodness with Donald Trump's leadership and the Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI Director Kash Patel, they have announced the results of Operation Restore Justice, something that

could have been done under the last administration. It's a nationwide initiative targeting child sex predators. And over a five-day period, the operation led to the arrest of 205 individuals. And the most heartbreaking part of all is the rescue of 185

and 15 children across the United States of America. The scope of the operation was incredible. The operation involved all 55 FBI-filled offices, the Department of Justice Child Exploitation Section,

and the U.S. Attorney's Offices nationwide. Again, why did the Democrats and the Biden administration not protect these children? There was also some shocking arrests, including a Minnesota state trooper and an Army reservist that was arrested for allegedly producing child sexual abuse material while in uniform. Also, a former Metropolitan Police Department officer

officer in Washington, D.C., previously convicted of sex offenses, was charged with exploiting additional victims while unsupervised released. And that's not all. An undocumented individual from Mexico was arrested in Virginia.

for allegedly transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes. I go back to the original question. Why did our federal government and the Biden administration purposely look the other way while they knew this was going on? Luckily, Pam Bondi, the attorney general, had this to say about the operation. What I will tell you is these depraved human beings, if convicted, will face the maximum penalty in prison, some life.

We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will charge you. If you are online targeting a child, you will not escape us.

The FBI and the Department of Justice will come after you and we will prosecute you. Parents, you have to know this is so serious. Your child has no right to privacy on the Internet. None. You have to monitor what your kids are doing, whether they're playing games on the Internet, on social media, any other websites that children, teenagers frequent online.

An online predator can find them. I always say it's from instant message to instant nightmare. Parents, they're talking to your kids like they're other children, and they're not. They're predators. They pose as children. They get them sometimes to post explicit pictures of themselves after they talk to them. And then in some cases, they even try to blackmail the children. The suicide rate among teens...

ages 14 to 17 has increased as a result of this as well because teens are taken advantage of and they're manipulated online by child predators. So all of you being here today and covering this is so important because parents need to know you've got to talk to your kids. They think they're talking to other children, but most of the time they're not.

And that's not all. A major warning coming from the FBI Director Kash Patel as he highlighted the operation's message making it clear we're coming for you if you are harming children. Here's what he had to say as well. As the FBI Director said

I'm humbled to leave some of the bravest men and women in law enforcement. And I want to thank our 55 field offices, our 90 plus United States attorney's offices, our CIO section, our crim division here at the Department of Justice and our field offices throughout the country with lawyers and prosecutors and agents working tirelessly on some of the harshest criminality we've ever seen. They don't take breaks because our children deserve a free and open society. I also want to

Just take a moment to emphasize the priority of this Department of Justice and this FBI. Our children, if you harm our children, you will be given no sanctuary. There is no place we will not come to hunt you down. There is no place we will not look for you. And there is no cage we will not put you in should you do harm to our children.

The prioritization of this administration and General Bondi has made it abundantly clear to child predators, you will be hunted down and you will be prosecuted. And that is a refreshing thing to hear for the men and women who do this work tirelessly. And it's also an acknowledgement of the safety that we look forward to bringing America. As the Attorney General mentioned, there are a couple of cases worth highlighting. People in places of public trust

have violated not only the law, but that public trust to include teachers, law enforcement personnel and other professionals that we look to safeguard our children have not only violated the law, but violated the trust.

In Minneapolis, defendant Jeremy Francis Plonsky, a Minneapolis state trooper and former Army reservist, was arrested for producing child sexual abuse material while in uniform. Not anymore. In Norfolk, Virginia, defendant Jose Alexis Valdez Sosa, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, again, allegedly arrested for transporting a minor across state lines. No more.

Another example right here in Washington, D.C., in the Metropolitan Police Department, Officer Linwood Barnhill, a former already convicted sex offender, was arrested again for exploiting more victims, more children while on supervised release. These are just three examples that show you the extent and the depravity of

of these horrific crimes. And we need to team up together with the American public to find the rest. I want to give a special thanks to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for the tireless work they do in partnering with us. And again, I want to thank the Department of Justice and all these folks here.

And Pam, thank you for never wavering to defend our children. Now this operation is not over. It is part of Project Safe Childhood. It's a DOJ initiative launched to make sure that we combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The DOJ is collaborating with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and they are encouraging you, the public, to report suspected exploitation through established hotlines today.

and online reporting tools. One thing is for sure, the Trump administration is not going to turn a blind eye to this and they are going after these predators wherever they are. Next, story number two. The White House has made it very clear that when it comes to law and order, they are a full court press and a team that is working together, whether it's the Attorney General's office, the FBI, and local law enforcement. And now we have the large

The Attorney General coming out and saying a cell of the Sinaloa cartel operated in four major U.S. cities. The cartel conducted a large-scale drug distribution operation throughout the western part of the country.

that led federal authorities to the largest fentanyl seizure ever. There was an illegal alien from Mexico that led the group in the U.S. and the group ran one of the largest fentanyl and drug distribution networks the country has ever seen. Documents from the U.S. Department of Justice are now revealing.

The Sinaloa cartel boss running this fentanyl empire, as it was described today, from Oregon. That should tell you everything you need to know. Oregon's sanctuary policies kept this man safe. Pam Bondi making it clear in her statement.

that this is a problem and it's taking the lives of countless Americans. The number one killer of fentanyl in this country is those between the ages of 18 and 34. And she had a warning for the American people to tell your kids and your grandkids about fake pills that are hitting the markets at record pace. The DEA seized...

11.5 kilos of fentanyl, including an astounding approximately 3 million fentanyl pills. The largest seizure in our nation's history.

These are the pills in the bags right there. The main bottom right, the head of this organization, Sinaloa Organization, here in the country illegally, six of these guys and women here in the country illegally. His name is Alberto Salazar Amaya. He is the leader...

And he was living in Salem, Oregon. With him, they got millions of dollars, cash, cars, but the drugs were in Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Utah.

That's how insulated these drug dealer cartel leaders make themselves. This was an incredible operation and that's why I wanted all of you here behind me. It took months and months of work, investigation, leading up to smaller buys, smaller cases to get this massive amount of drugs and guns off our streets. $5 million approximately in cash.

35 kilos of methamphetamine, 35 kilos of meth, 7.5 kilos of cocaine, 4.5 kilos of heroin, 49 rifles and pistols, all shown in the pictures. And then, of course, the 3 million pills. These pills were stamped as oxycodone. Let that sink in. 3 million pills going on our streets.

3 million pills, the streets of our country, laced with fentanyl labeled as oxycodone. And they were in all different strengths of fentanyl within them. This operation was made possible by over 55,000 hours of law enforcement investigation. And this is a really dangerous job that these DEA agents face every day.

But they are getting very dangerous drugs off of our streets each day. As Pam Bondi said, this historic drug seizure led by the DEA is a significant blow against the Sinaloa cartel that removes poison from our streets and protects American citizens from the scourge

of fentanyl. The attorney general also making it clear that she has the Trump administration behind her, saying that we must continue to fight these cartels that have been declared by Donald Trump a terrorist organization, a designation that should have been done years ago by the Biden administration. But instead, Democrats are giving them sanctuary in their cities. Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in-depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast, and we will see you back here tomorrow. Military veterans and active duty service members, you could become a certified cyber warrior with just 12 weeks of training at My Computer Career. Cyber security specialists are in high demand, and IT pros with these skills often enjoy abundant opportunity and a great lifestyle.

Protect our people, liberty, and treasured institutions from cyber threats. SkillBridge and other VA benefits are available to those who qualify. Learn more at mycomputercareer.edu. That's mycomputercareer.edu.

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