Crackdown on gangs in Del. leads to 12 arrests
By SEAN O'SULLIVAN, The News Journal

Posted Saturday, March 10, 2007

Courtesy of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
WILMINGTON -- Federal officials Friday announced the arrest of 12 undocumented immigrants with suspected gang ties, including one member of the notorious MS-13 international gang, during a recent anti-gang sweep in Delaware.

Eighteen others, who were already in custody, were also identified by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as having gang affiliations. All are facing deportation.

U.S. Attorney Colm F. Connolly said the arrests and deportations are not a sign of a growing gang problem but rather the result of a cooperative effort by federal, state and county officials to stop gang activity before it takes root.

"These are people for whom we don't have a criminal case. They are targeted because they are gang members," said Connolly, and if it determined they are in the country illegally, they are removed from the streets.

Connolly said the raid also shows ICE's stepped-up presence in Delaware. During the past year, ICE has increased the number of agents in Delaware from three to seven, set up a permanent office in Wilmington and increased its cooperative efforts with local law enforcement.

New Castle County Police spokesman Cpl. Trinidad Navarro said there has been an increase in gang-related incidents in the county, including a gang-related homicide last year and multiple instances of petty crimes between gangs and gang-related graffiti.

"We've been fortunate to break up some of the smaller cliques before the seriousness of the crimes have escalated," Navarro said.

The exception is the July 2006 murder of 21-year-old Juan Monjaraz Garcia during a fight involving bats and knives in the 600 block of Homestead Road. At least eight people were arrested. Six have pleaded guilty and two face murder charges.

William M. Lowder, who four months ago became the state's first ICE resident agent in charge, said they haven't seen the widespread criminal activity in Delaware that is common when gangs establish a presence.

"But this eventually could become a problem and we recognize that, and we are taking proactive efforts to address that," he said.

The Delaware sweeps are part of a national anti-gang effort by ICE called Operation Community Shield, which was started in 2005 to target the MS-13 gang but has since grown to include all transnational gangs.

Lowder said his office has been working with local law enforcement to generate a "target list" of about 120 people who are suspected gang members -- often identifiable by their tattoos -- and likely in the country illegally.

ICE, established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, has participated in at least three Community Shield sweeps with police in Delaware since December.

In addition to the 30 arrested or found to be in custody, two were here legally, so no action could be taken. Connolly said authorities are looking for about 90 others. And because of their suspected gang ties, Connolly said his office will prosecute them for misdemeanor violations to help speed their removal from the country.

While the past four months have focused on New Castle County, Lowder said ICE is now working with the Delaware State Police to launch similar sweeps in Kent and Sussex counties.

Among those arrested in recent sweeps were: Esvin Rolando Imul-Lopez, 23, a Guatemalan national and professed member of the MS-13 transnational gang; Juan Aguilera-Zurita, 24; Manuel Ortiz-Camacho, 24; and Jose Curiel-Estrada, 27; all Mexican nationals.

MS-13 is one of the most feared gangs in the country. Started in El Salvador, it first appeared in the United States in Los Angeles and now has spread to the East Coast. It has been known for home invasion robberies, drug dealing and machete attacks.

Last year, former Sussex County Sheriff Bob Reed claimed MS-13 was in the area and active, pointing to community sources and graffiti evidence in Seaford, Georgetown and Bridgeville.

Lowder, however, dismissed those claims.

"There was a perception down there because of graffiti, but it was found to relate to the utilities (not MS-13)," he said. "We have no indication that there is a problem, but we are trying to nip any problem in the bud."

Lowder also said Friday another ICE initiative under way in Delaware, called Operation Predator, targets illegal immigrants who are child predators. This effort picked up Edison Amelio Ferreira, 26, of the Dominican Republic, who was convicted of unlawful sexual contact with a 13-year-old in Delaware and now faces deportation.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs ... /-1/NEWS01