On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC) was awarded the prestigious Leadership in Homeland Security Award during the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) awards banquet in San Diego, CA. Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) Executive Staff and ACTIC personnel were in attendance for this special event, and Major Jennifer Borquez, Director of the ACTIC, accepted the award on behalf of the Department.

The award honors excellence and significant contributions to overcoming homeland security challenges. It recognizes single and multi-agency collaborative efforts that demonstrate significant contributions to information sharing and analytical work in the homeland security enterprise and/or sound decision-making during the preparation and execution of critical incident response, mitigation, and recovery efforts resulting from actors of terrorism and extremism in addition to natural or man-made calamity.

The ACTIC was recognized for their work in the year leading up to Super Bowl LVII, during which time they partnered with the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL) and federal, state, local, county, and municipal agencies to develop a specialized version of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act certified Community Awareness Program (CAP) training to provide education on suspicious activity reporting across Arizona. The ACTIC and CELL provided training to more than 16,000 personnel to identify and report suspicious activity to prevent acts of terrorism and enhance homeland security efforts prior to Super Bowl week.

The ACTIC saw an increase in the quality of reports from members of the public and investigators were better equipped to investigate the nature of the reported activity and prevent situations from escalating. The CAP training was instrumental in mitigating terrorist and criminal activities and disruptions across Arizona communities and provided a streamlined and consistent message on suspicious activity reporting across multiple jurisdictions.

The Arizona Fusion Center, also known as the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC), is a joint effort between the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Arizona Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other participating agencies.

To support the Arizona homeland security effort, the Arizona Fusion Center was established and became operational in October 2004. The Center operates on a 24/7 basis, providing intelligence, investigative and technical support to state, local, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as other agencies critical to Arizona and the country's homeland security efforts.

Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) troopers seized approximately 262.02 pounds of fentanyl pills in incidents across the state from Nov. 7 through Nov. 14, 2023, and arrested a total of eight suspects on related charges.

The first seizure occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when a traffic stop near Fountain Hills for multiple civil traffic violations led to the discovery of 53 pounds of fentanyl pills concealed in a spare tire. Both the driver and passenger were arrested and booked into the Maricopa County Jail.

On Wednesday, Nov. 8, a trooper stopped a driver in the Wellton area for a civil traffic violation. During the stop, a drug detection canine alerted to the vehicle and troopers located 104.52 pounds of fentanyl pills concealed in boxes. Two suspects were arrested on drug-related charges.

On the morning of Friday, Nov. 10, a trooper observed indicators of criminal activity during a traffic stop in the Joseph City area. A subsequent alert from a canine led to the discovery of 25 pounds of fentanyl pills stashed in a backpack. Two suspects were arrested on drug-related charges.

Finally, during a traffic stop in the Eloy area on Tuesday, Nov. 14, a trooper located approximately 79.5 pounds of suspected fentanyl pills hidden inside a spare tire. Both the driver and passenger were booked into jail on drug-related charges.

The combined total of approximately 262.02 pounds of fentanyl pills seized in these incidents equates to approximately 1.18 million pills.

Investigators believe the pills were bound for Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Chicago.

Additionally, some of the pills seized in these incidents tested positive for xylazine, a powerful sedative that places users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Please talk to your loved ones – especially teens – about the dangers of taking unknown pills. Lab testing by the DEA now shows roughly 7 out of every 10 fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills contain a potentially deadly dose of the powerful opiate. Visit dea.gov/fentanylawareness for more information.

“Thank you to Department of Public Safety troopers for keeping our communities safe from the deadly fentanyl epidemic,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “Through vigilance and hard work, DPS prevented hundreds of pounds of fentanyl pills from being released into the streets and have potentially saved countless lives. I will continue to relentlessly fight the fentanyl crisis, stopping the flow of drugs throughout our state, and holding drug traffickers accountable for spreading poison in our communities."