Cartel may be using bogus federal bulletproof vests – Houston Chronicle
Mexican drug traffickers could be disguising themselves as U.S. federal agents to trick their rivals, a new law-enforcement advisory indicates.
Mexico’s Gulf Cartel may have 40 bullet-proof vests emblazoned with “FBI” and “DEA,” according to the advisory, which is circulating among local, state and federal law officers this week.
Baseball caps and T-shirts with the agencies’ names have long been a fad among everyday citizens, but ballistic armor raises the stakes and concerns, officials said.
“It is believed the Gulf Cartel intended to use the vests as a distraction while they were conducting enforcement activities against their victims,” reads the advisory from an FBI intelligence coordinator.
The warning comes as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano plans to travel the border and visit Mexico this week to discuss taking on drug cartels.
