Several arrests were made at the Hub At Tucson, 1011 N. Tyndall Ave., on Wednesday, Oct.13, by U.S. Marshals, Drug Enforcement Administration officials and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. On Friday, two more arrests were made in the Tucson area in connection with the case, Postal Inspector Dan Grossenbach confirmed in an email to the Daily Wildcat on Saturday. The location and exact time of those arrests were not specified.
Postal Inspector Adam Sale confirmed that warrants for these arrests were issued from out of state by law enforcement in Washington. USPIS counterparts from Spokane, Washington, along with the U.S. Attorney Offices in the eastern Washington district are currently leading the investigation.
According to Grossenbach, who was at the scene on Wednesday, USPIS is investigating a federal felony. Police detained two unidentified individuals in the Hub fitness center while law enforcement searched the premises and surrounding area.
It was said by USPIS that further information regarding the case is currently sealed. No additional comment could be made.
Grossenbach later said in an email to the Wildcat on Friday that “the search and arrest warrants conducted Wednesday were completed safely and successfully.” It was also noted in the email that this is a national multi-defendant federal case that has been ongoing for several months.
Around 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, residents living at apartment building Sol Y Luna and the Hub At Tucson began to notice police from various departments filling up Tyndall Avenue.
Hub at Tucson is one of three Hub student housing apartment buildings in a cluster of student high rises in the same area across the road from the UA campus.
Skylar Zannini, a resident at Sol Y Luna, said she walked out onto her balcony and saw several undercover police vehicles alongside marked police vehicles below. The police created a blockade on the street with cars and yellow tape with the words “US Marshal do not cross” written on it.
She recalled seeing police handcuffing and arresting two individuals. She also witnessed another individual be placed into the back of a car without being handcuffed. “There were so many people watching what was going on,” Zannini said.
To maintain the case’s integrity, the USAO has kept the case sealed for the time being. More information about the incident will be available soon, when the seal on the information is lifted.
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