- yesterday
AG Pam Bondi holds a press briefing to tout "Operation Take Back America" and faces questions about the Jeffrey Epstein files.
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00:00Good afternoon and welcome to DEA. My name is Robert Murphy, the acting
00:19administrator for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. On behalf of
00:24the men and women of DEA, I'm privileged to stand here today alongside the Attorney
00:28General of the United States, whose leadership, support, and unwavering commitment to public
00:33safety has been instrumental in DEA carrying out its vital mission. It is an honor to introduce
00:38the Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi.
00:43Thank you all for being here today. This is so important why we're here today. Acting
00:54Administrator Murphy, thank you for everything you do. We've been to DEA labs together. You
01:01have been fighting this every day and I can't thank you enough. It's been an incredible few
01:07weeks for the DEA nationwide. We're here today to announce the historic success through Operation
01:15Take Back America. We should remember why this work matters. We're honored today to be here
01:24with Chelsea Curtis. She is a brave sister. She lost two of her brothers to drug overdoses. One
01:33to heroin and her second brother she lost to cocaine that was laced with fentanyl. Chelsea works
01:42with us here at the Department of Justice and she's in the District of Virginia and she does
01:51amazing work and she is paying it forward by looking out for other victims and their families and fighting
02:00this epidemic throughout our country. Thank you Chelsea for being here with us. Over the Fourth
02:07of July weekend DEA agents executed successful operations throughout this country. One in Columbia,
02:15South Carolina where they seized 71 kilos of fentanyl and 20 kilos of methamphetamine. This is near very near
02:27the University of South Carolina where dealers we all know often target college kids. They put these drugs
02:37in pill forms to go after our kids. This includes a seizure in Fresno California also Fourth of July weekend. Acting
02:53Director Murphy is going to get into details about these but this is why this is so important and this
02:57is something new that I hadn't seen. 24 pounds of carfentanil disguised as real prescription
03:07pills. Carfentanil we all know is even stronger than fentanyl they often call it the elephant tranquilizer
03:15and it was carfentanil in prescription pills to look like oxycodone. That should terrify every parent
03:24in this country. In many cases illegal aliens are doing the work of cartels in our communities. In one
03:33recent example just two weeks ago the DEA arrested an illegal alien sitting in the front passenger seat
03:40of a trailer truck that contained over 700 pounds of methamphetamine. 700 pounds. Something else I hadn't
03:51seen? They are now putting methamphetamine in a pill form. First time we've seen that. A pill form.
04:00Now a pill form of methamphetamine might not kill you instantly but it can get you so addicted to meth
04:09that it can destroy your life instantly. DOJ attorneys will continue to prosecute these violent criminals
04:19and they're all violent. If you are dealing in these drugs to Americans to any citizen in this world
04:25you're a violent criminal and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. Since January 20th
04:34DEA has been removing this poison from our streets at a historic rate. They've seized over 44 million fentanyl pills,
04:44over 4,500 pounds of fentanyl powder, over 64,000 pounds of methamphetamines, 64,000,
04:57nearly totaling the same amount that was seized in all of 2024. 201,
05:05wait 201, 541,000 pounds of cocaine and what they're doing they just take a little fentanyl and lace it in that cocaine,
05:18which is how Chelsea lost her brother. We will not rest until these FTOs are eliminated,
05:26their members are prosecuted or deported and the public is safe again. Thanks to President Trump we're
05:35able to take the handcuffs off our law enforcement officers, our great men and women at DEA who are
05:41out there every single day risking their lives to protect us and to protect our families. One big beautiful
05:49bill enhances our law enforcement capabilities by also including money for technology that will help
05:57our agents catch these criminals and they are getting so sophisticated and
06:06acting director Murphy's going to explain to you, I've never seen anything like this either in my entire
06:12career as a prosecutor, how sophisticated they are in smuggling these drugs into our country.
06:19Now I'm going to let him explain that to you with a truckload of cucumbers that came into our
06:24country. In addition to one big beautiful bill, the Halt Fentanyl Act that was passed through Congress
06:31is now headed to the White House. That will help us because it analogs previously these drugs that were
06:38coming into our country they would change the precursors as fast as they can so they wouldn't be
06:43illegal coming into our country. No longer would the Halt Fentanyl Act. Also now if a criminal is in
06:51possession of 100 grams or more of any fentanyl related substance, any fentanyl related substance,
06:57they will face 10 years in prison minimum. President Trump, the Department of Justice,
07:04and the great men and women at the DEA will continue to fight to make America safe again.
07:12We will fight from Tampa to the Twin Cities, from Nassau County to the Golden Coast and I can't wait for
07:20you to hear these recent cases that were just made. And to the Angel families and our incredible Angel
07:26sister who lost two brothers, two brothers to drugs and everyone affected by fentanyl know that every
07:35day we will be out there fighting for you and your loved ones. The most important reminder we can give
07:43you here today to high school kids, to college kids, to parents, to talk to your kids. Do not buy,
07:52take, accept any drug, any prescription drug from anyone off the street. Even if it's a friend,
08:01do not accept it. This is why. This is a real Adderall pill. This is a fake Adderall pill.
08:13You can't tell the difference. These are laced with drugs that could kill you. Over here,
08:19the oxycodone. The fake ones and the real ones. This is what was seized in Fresno, California.
08:29In Fresno, right? Yes. Amounts that could kill so many of our high school and college kids. They think
08:38that buying this, they think that buying this on the street corner won't hurt them, but it will and it can
08:44kill you. And that's why they're targeting places close to our universities as well. I'm going to
08:50let Acting Director Murphy now fill you in on all the details of these very, very important arrests
08:56that were made just within the last couple weeks. Thank you all for your attention to this very important
09:01matter. Thank you, Attorney General Bondi.
09:04The men and women of the DEA lead the fight against the Mexican cartels. These cartels are responsible
09:13for the manufacturing, the smuggling, and the distribution. And then the subsequent collection
09:18of the money, because that's what's driving this problem, is profit and making sure that money makes
09:23it back into Mexico. How do we measure success? DEA works tirelessly every day to disrupt and dismantle these
09:32cartels. We are second to none at developing intelligence, interpreting it, and actioning it.
09:38Without the intelligence, these cases I'm going to be going to talk about, we would never be able to
09:43make. You are not going to randomly stop the amount of vehicles that we haven't come across a port of
09:48entry. There's no way we have, and some could be million a day. There's no way we're going to be
09:52able to stop every vehicle, search it, and find us. Without the actual intelligence, the technology that
09:56we're hopefully going to be getting based on the new bill will help us get better at doing our job and
10:01preventing this stuff from making it to the street in the first place. But we recognize that's not
10:06enough by itself. We have a responsibility to ensure the public is aware that threats posed by
10:13the cartels that endanger both public safety and national security. And this is where all of you
10:18come in today. We are seeing a disturbing trend. Cartels are now producing methamphetamine pills. We
10:25started seeing it in 2024 at a tremendous amount. We've already seized more methamphetamine pills this
10:31year than we did the entire year of 2024. These are made to look like popular drugs that our youngest
10:40men and women want, our college-age students. This is an effort by the cartels, a deliberate effort.
10:46Our young men and women are not seeking out methamphetamine pills. They are not seeking
10:55to get that. Unfortunately, they are being deceived into a life of potential addiction.
11:02We are fighting back, bringing this fight to the front lines. Fentanyl remains the leading cause of
11:07death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. Fentanyl and methamphetamine together are toxic
11:13evidence that cartels have no value of life. Over the past few weeks, as the Attorney General
11:19mentioned, we have made historic seizures in multiple cities targeting these cartels,
11:24who are recently designated by the president as foreign terrorist organizations.
11:30Attorney General spoke about Lexington, South Carolina, right outside Columbia University,
11:36University of South Carolina and Columbia. 156 pounds of meth. There was also, I'm sorry,
11:42156 pounds of fentanyl along with meth, weapons, cash, and an illegal alien that had previously been
11:48deported twice. Fresno, California, the 24 pounds of carfentanil. That's frightening. That's a large
11:58amount of any drug, let alone carfentanil. That cannot hit the streets. Luckily, we were able to stop
12:03it from getting the street. Gainesville, Georgia, suburb right outside of Atlanta. The 706 pounds of
12:09methamphetamine the Attorney General made mention of hidden in a shipment of cucumbers across the
12:14Mexican border. Obviously, DEA intelligence led to that. We had not seen this unique. It was not a
12:20standard size kilo packages. They were cut in half, and they were built into the boxes that contained
12:25the cucumbers. So when you picked up a box, there was no way. So the average trooper or anybody stopping
12:30that truck, that 18-wheeler that had tons of cucumbers on it, opened up the back and looked,
12:35unless you knew you were looking for this, there's no way you would have found it. And again,
12:40one of the individuals arrested there, an illegal alien, deported twice, most recently
12:44after serving a federal conviction for drug trafficking, cocaine. Minneapolis, Minnesota,
12:52889 pounds of methamphetamine. Again, one of the persons arrested in that case, previously deported.
12:59Kern County, California, Bakersfield. Along with our partners, we shut down a meth conversion lab,
13:08which is where we see where meth comes across the border in a liquid form. It has to be converted
13:12back into something that's usable. It's useless in the liquid. It's converted back into crystallized
13:16methamphetamine. So very dangerous for the neighborhoods when you live in those areas. Toxic
13:22chemicals is some of the very, very toxic. The house easily explodes with the chemicals they're mixing.
13:28They seized 240 pounds of crystal meth that was finished, and another 150 pounds of liquid meth
13:34that was in process. Galveston, Texas, along with our other federal partners, CBP and others,
13:43we were able to seize 1,700 pounds of methamphetamine worth over the $15 million
13:48hidden inside a vehicle that was crossing into the United States.
13:50Two days ago in Austin, Texas, along with law enforcement partners, we seized an additional
14:03785 pounds of methamphetamine hidden amongst the pallet of blueberries.
14:09Let me say this again. This is a national security threat, not just a drug problem.
14:15We are taking the fight directly to the cartels, not just at home, but internationally,
14:19across our borders, and online, through online platforms.
14:26We are not just seizing drugs. We are also disbanding the cartels logistics
14:30and their finance networks. Just recently, Miami, DEA agents, Miami seized over 10 million
14:36in cryptocurrency directly linked to the Sinaloa cartel. In Omaha, we seized numerous handguns,
14:44including machine gun conversion devices, along with 40,000 fentanyl, I'm sorry, 40,000 fentanyl
14:50pills in a raid that was run by a locally based poly drug linked to a Mexican cartel.
15:00Just recently, in Chicago, multi-state takedown in Indiana, Kentucky, and Arizona
15:06resulted in seizure of 59 illegal firearms possessed by serious violent felons, along with 74 pounds of
15:13methamphetamine, 11 pounds of fentanyl, 11 pounds of cocaine, cash, and 23 individuals who were arrested.
15:18Every seizure demonstrates the reach the cartels have throughout the United States.
15:23Make no mistake, the cartels are operating in every corner of this country, and so are we.
15:29At this point, we'll take questions. Yes, ma'am.
15:33Mr. Minister Schroeder, I would like to get your perspective on what exactly is driving this,
15:38but I also have an off-topic question for the Attorney General. In response to questions,
15:42a comment that President Trump made a short time ago, just a few moments ago on the South Line,
15:46he said that he would support you releasing additional credible evidence from the Epstein
15:51investigation. Is that something that you are open to doing? Let me take that first.
15:57This is, this today is about fentanyl. This is about a wall of people right outside this room
16:03who have died from, I appreciate your question, but this today is about fentanyl overdoses throughout
16:09our country and people who have lost loved ones to fentanyl. That's the message that we're here to
16:14send today. Nothing about Epstein. I'm not going to talk about Epstein. Go ahead.
16:18And so to your first question about what's driving this, clearly it's driven by profit. It's all it is.
16:24Mexican cartels are driven by profit only. These are business decisions. Everything we talked about
16:29today, whether it's how they're smuggling across the building, the, you know, the innovation they
16:34use to get it across the border. Also, the attempted, quite frankly, during the 4th of July holiday,
16:42we think it was a concerted effort that they flood us because they thought there'd be less law
16:46enforcement working at that time. And they sent as much as they could across the border in numerous
16:50cities. Didn't work out well for them. Also, the, the decision to start making methamphetamine pills,
16:58business decision, like any other company in America, they look at what, what is wanted.
17:03Unfortunately, um, taking a pill has a lot less stigma than shooting, shooting a drug in your arm,
17:10snorting it, smoking it. But that makes it that much more dangerous because it's less threatening to
17:15our young people who, again, from a national security standpoint, that, that 18 to 45 year old
17:22men and women, that's what makes up our U.S. military. And we're losing them at historic rates.
17:27That is not what we can allow to continue. And that's what we're here to fight and continue
17:30to fight it. Yes, ma'am.
17:31I have an on-topic question. On-topic, you spoke a lot about, um, seizure numbers, but of all the
17:38different actions that you took over that weekend, can you talk to us about how many individuals are
17:44going to be facing for the prosecution, not simply just being deported, perhaps, you know,
17:48arrested in September?
17:49Everybody arrested in this, um, will be facing. This is a serious amount of drugs.
17:53Do you have a number?
17:54Well, I don't off the top of my head because it was in multiple cities, but I think most of the,
17:59pretty much at every place we're talking about, I don't have an exact number.
18:03And to jump in on that same topic, that minimum 10 years in prison for almost all of these defendants,
18:09some 20, some 40, depending on the amount of drugs, the type of drugs, the level of drugs.
18:14Go ahead.
18:15My off-topic question is for you, Attorney General. Um, today on the social media,
18:19President Trump made allegations about mortgage fraud against Senator Schiff.
18:24I'm wondering if you can comment on that and then whether or not that issue has been preferred
18:28and will be looked at by the judge.
18:29Yeah, I, I just was told about those comments walking into this room, um, and we don't comment
18:35on whether there is or is not a pending investigation, but thank you. Any,
18:38anything else on topic today? Go ahead.
18:41Madam Attorney General, on this matter of fentanyl, which is a priority clearly with the DEA,
18:47the Department of Justice, are you confident you're going to still be here to execute this
18:51because there's so many people calling for change at the Department of Justice?
18:55I'm going to be here for as long as the president wants me here, and I believe he's made that crystal
18:59clear. It's four years. Well, three and a half now, right? We've got six months in.
19:03It's been going to go fast.
19:04Yeah, it feels like six years.
19:06Yeah, exactly.
19:06Um, but I was with director Patel this morning and we are working on fighting violent crime.
19:11We are working on all these issues that we deeply care about to make America safe again
19:17and get these drugs off our streets. You know, we've been working on this since my,
19:21my really last two years fentanyl was coming on the market when I was state attorney general.
19:26And now, um, with these cartels, it's coming back. It's coming in more than ever. And at the border
19:33has stopped that, but we're going to catch them and we're going to prosecute them to the fullest extent
19:37of the law.
19:38Yes, sir.
19:39No, I'm not going to talk about personnel matters. No, I was with director Patel all morning and we
19:55are committed to keeping America safe, making America safe, working with our incredible partners
20:02at DEA, FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals to do everything we can to make America safe. And that's what we're
20:10focused on. And today we're focused on protecting our kids. And I would ask all of you when you leave,
20:16go look at that wall outside, right outside this room of all the fentanyl deaths, all the faces
20:23of fentanyl that you guys, you have done an amazing job putting up. Thank you all.
20:27The deputy director, Bongino. Following up on that. Yes. Yes. Go ahead.
20:33I wanted to follow up on that question. I think the American people have a lot of questions about
20:37your relationship with the deputy director, deputy FBI director. Do you believe that he should stay
20:41in his role? I'm not going to discuss personnel matters. I think we all are committed to working
20:46together now to make America safe again. And that's what we're doing. Only on topic, guys. Go ahead.
20:53First of all, I believe when you're in a public forum, you can choose or not choose to answer any
20:58questions. But I don't believe it is your answer to ask Mr. Strickland's question. That said,
21:03I will keep this on topic. Thank you. How can you keep America safe again when the president's budget
21:08for 2026 cuts the DEA by $212 million and the FBI by half a billion? Do you report those cuts? Do you think
21:17they will harm your capacity to fight? Well, it won't. That's a great question. It won't harm our capacity
21:22to fight. I'll tell you that. We can always do more with more, but we can do more with less. And that's
21:27what we're committed to doing. The Big Beautiful Bill also adds a tremendous amount for us in combating
21:35especially the drug crisis. Billions of dollars, I believe. Yeah. Let me see. 3.5. Yeah. 3.3 billion
21:45dollars in the Big Beautiful Bill to combat drug trafficking, support the prosecution of immigration
21:52matters, and gang-related crimes. So that crosses all agencies as well. So that bill will greatly help
22:00us as well in addition to the budget. We also have a 3.5 billion dollar reimbursement fund for state and
22:08local agencies that are enforcing the Immigration Act, drug, and human trafficking laws. And human
22:16trafficking is also something we're not talking about today, but is very, very important to us. Yes,
22:21there are billions of additional dollars in addition to the original budget. So that was a great
22:26question. Thank you. Thank you, guys. I think that's all. Ma'am, the President said today you would
22:30release credible files related to Mr. Epstein. Are you prepared to do that, and when would you? Our memo,
22:37today our memo speaks for itself, and we'll get back to you on anything else. I haven't seen all of his
22:42statements today. Thank you. And how would you respond to the MAGA base that has expressed a lot of
22:47frustration about it? We're going to fight to keep America safe again, and we're fighting to
22:51together as a team. That's what that's what's so important right now. You know, we we've got a war
22:58on drugs. We've got a war on human trafficking. We've got cartels in this country, and we are going
23:03to do we've got foreign adversaries around this world as well. And we're all going to work together
23:09as a team to fight to keep America safe again. And I can tell you that's what we're all committed to.
23:15Thank you. Thank you all for being here, and thank you for please show these pictures today.
23:20Thank you. If anybody needs B-roll, there's a B-roll, especially of the cucumbers thing I talk
23:26about, some great video of that. If you need it, Shanaz, we can get that to him. So there's plenty of it. Yes.
23:33Is there anything new on Canada the president has talked about with respect to tariffs that
23:38are concerned with Canada? Have you seen anything recently that would be useful for the public to
23:44know about fentanyl from Canada? I can just say that I myself have met with Canada, but I'm going to
23:50leave the rest of that to the president on those. But we've met and had discussions at least on two
23:55different occasions. And we're going to do everything we can to keep every border safe,
23:59not just the border in Mexico. And the reason we wanted you to look at the cucumbers, I've never
24:04seen anything like it. There's a video of it that they'll get you. But when you took the cucumbers out
24:09of the bottom, they just look like a normal vegetable crate. And they even changed the packaging and the
24:15shape of the kilos to fit underneath the cardboard where it was virtually impossible to detect. But
24:23but they did detect it. So and and some of this new, these new funds will help us with technology to
24:30continue to to take these drugs off our street. Thank you all. And thanks for covering this.
24:36Can you get us a number of charges?
24:38Yeah, we can do that. Yeah, we can do that.
24:40And they can get you the time they're facing too, whether it's 10, 20 or 40 years, depending on the pills.
24:45Thank you. Thank you guys. Appreciate it.
24:49Thank you for your time.
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