Saturday, February 14, 2009

366 people were kidnapped in Phoenix, Arizona in 2008

Second in the world behind Mexico City.

More ransom kidnappings happen in Phoenix than in any other town in the United States, according to local and federal law-enforcement authorities. Most victims and suspects are connected to the drug-smuggling world, usually tracing back to the western Mexican state of Sinaloa, Phoenix police report.

Arizona has become the new drug gateway into the United States. Roughly half of all marijuana seized at the U.S.-Mexico border was found along Arizona's 370-mile-long stretch.

One result is a kidnapping epidemic. Nearly every other crime here is down. But police received 366 kidnap-for-ransom reports last year, 359 in 2007. Police estimate twice that number go unreported. [emphasis mine]
I'm so glad we have former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano as our new Homeland Security Secretary. Aren't you?

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