I.C.E. and C.B.P. News Releases 3/26/19
I.C.E. News Releases
03/26/2019
WASHINGTON, DC
CYBER CRIMES
J-CODE announces 61 arrests in its second coordinated law enforcement operation targeting opioid trafficking on the darknet
As a result of Operation SaboTor, U.S. and international law enforcement agencies made 61 arrests and shut down 50 Darknet accounts used for illegal activity. Law enforcement executed 65 search warrants, seizing 299.5 kilograms of drugs, 51 firearms, and more than $7 million ($4.5 million in cryptocurrency, $2.48 million in cash, and $40,000 in gold).
03/22/2019
PHILADELPHIA, PA
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE removes Iranian man convicted of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
Ali Caby, aka “Alex Caby”, 41, entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location without admission or parole by an immigration officer.
03/22/2019
BOSTON, MA
COUNTER PROLIFERATION INVESTIGATION UNIT
Australian national sentenced for illegally exporting aircraft parts to Iran
David Russell Levick, 57, of Cherrybrook NSW, Australia, who previously pled guilty to the charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Feb. 1, 2019, was sentenced by the Honorable James E. Boasberg.
03/22/2019
BOSTON, MA
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Rhode Island man sentenced to 260 years in federal prison in ICE HSI Boston child exploitation case
Thomas Goodman, 45, was arrested by detectives from the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force on May 17, 2018, after Electric Boat Security confiscated Goodman’s cell phone when he violated company policy by using the cell phone on Electric Boat property.
03/22/2019
PHILADELPHIA, PA
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE removes leader of Salvadoran 18th Street Gang
ERO Philadelphia issued Jose Miguel Hernandez-Garcia, 35, a final administrative removal order March 29, 2016, while he was in the custody of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections serving a sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
03/21/2019
NEW YORK, NY
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE arrests previously removed Guatemalan national, released from local custody with an active detainer
ICE removed or returned 258,085 aliens in fiscal year 2018. Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 158,581 aliens, 90 percent of whom had criminal convictions, pending criminal charges, or previously issued final orders. The overall arrest figure represents an 11 percent increase over fiscal year 2017.
03/21/2019
ULSTER COUNTY, NY
NARCOTICS
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22 charged in state, federal drug trafficking probe
Seven members of a drug trafficking organization that distributed large quantities of crack cocaine, as well as heroin laced with fentanyl, over a two-year period, in and around the Village of Ellenville in Ulster County, New York were indicted federally following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York with the Ulster County Sheriff's Office, the New York State Police and the Village of Ellenville Police.
03/20/2019
BISMARCK, ND
NARCOTICS
Felon from Washington state sentenced in North Dakota to 15 years in federal prison for meth trafficking, illegally possessing firearm
According to the investigation, David Saul Salazar, 49, Packwood, Washington, was traveling with Gregorio Capetillo and Luis Parra Magana from Washington state to Minot, North Dakota. During that trip, Berthold police chief stopped the car and discovered about 10 pounds of methamphetamine and multiple firearms.
03/20/2019
NEWARK, NJ
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
Criminal alien sentenced for assault on ICE officer, illegal re-entry after removal
Carlos Juarez-Sanchez, a 33 year old Honduran national, has a history of illegal entry and arrests for multiple criminal offenses in the U.S. dating back to 2003. He was removed to Honduras by ICE in 2008, 2013, and 2014, and illegally re-entered the U.S. after each removal.
03/20/2019
ST. LOUIS, MO
HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
Previously removed Mexican man pleads guilty in Missouri to transporting illegal aliens, re-entering the US after being deported
Rene Flores-Calderon, 35, from Mexico, appeared in federal court before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey who accepted his guilty plea.
03/20/2019
HOUSTON, TX
NARCOTICS
Houston-based federal drug task force investigation leads to 43 additional arrests
Law enforcement authorities arrested 43 people Tuesday and Wednesday as part of a federal drug investigation dubbed “Operation Wrecking Ball” into alleged drug trafficking and related crimes that spanned multiple jurisdictions and states.
03/19/2019
NEWARK, NJ
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE ERO Newark removes foreign nationals wanted for aggravated murder, criminal affiliation, violence against woman
Yermin Alexander Diaz-Chavarria, a Salvadoran national, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol August 23, 2015, at Hidalgo Texas, for entering the country illegally. In 2017, El Salvador issued a warrant of arrest for Diaz for aggravated murder and affiliation with criminal organizations. On Feb. 13, 2018, Diaz did not appear for his immigration court hearing, and an immigration judge in Newark ordered him removed to El Salvador. On Feb. 11, 2019, ERO officers arrested Diaz in Newark. ERO officers removed him from the U.S. on March 8, 2019, and turned him over to Salvadoran authorities.
03/19/2019
PITTSBURGH, PA
FINANCIAL CRIMES
JPMorgan Chase Bank analyst admits stealing customer info in counterfeit check scheme
Sarah M. Wiley, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts before a United States District Judge.
03/19/2019
MILWAUKEE, WI
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Wisconsin man pleads guilty to producing child pornography outside US
Jeffrey H. Ernisse, 61, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Lynn S. Adelman to two counts of producing child pornography, one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in the Philippines, and one count of possessing child pornography.
03/19/2019
SCRANTON, PA
NARCOTICS
Dominican man sentenced in drug trafficking case
Willis DeLaRosa-Baez, 34, was sentenced March 14, on the aforementioned charges. DeLaRosa-Baez, his co-defendant, Daniel Silvestre-Ubri, and other individuals conspired to distribute heroin and crystal methamphetamine in Pennsylvania between February 4, 2016, and April 6, 2016.
03/15/2019
MISSOULA, MT
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Former US Air Force member in Montana admits to child sexual exploitation charges
Raymond Larry Edward Kennedy, 24, of Kalispell, pleaded guilty to sexual exploiting a child and receiving child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum 15 years to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release.
03/14/2019
HOUSTON, TX
FIREARMS, AMMUNITION AND EXPLOSIVES
Illegal alien from China sentenced in Houston to more than 5 years in federal prison for gun, identity theft convictions after threatening to shoot children
Xiangyu Zhang, an illegal alien from China residing in La Marque, Texas, was sentenced to 61 months in federal prison on March 14; he received 37 months for the firearms conviction, and a mandatory consecutive 24 months for identity theft.
03/13/2019
NEW YORK, NY
NARCOTICS
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Bronx man charged with murder in decade-old cold case
Following an investigation by ICE's HSI in New York with the NYPD, a federal indictment was unsealed Wednesday charging Jamal Brissett, aka “Trigger” with murdering Leshaun Gordon, 19, in the Bronx, New York, on June 30, 2009.
03/13/2019
SPRINGFIELD, MO
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Former Missouri math teacher sentenced more than 8 years in federal prison for receiving, distributing child pornography
Brandon Hileman, 26, of Lebanon, was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison without parole by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.
03/12/2019
LOS ANGELES, CA
DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD
5 arrested in scheme that hired people to take English proficiency exam on behalf of Chinese nationals seeking student visas
Federal authorities this morning arrested five defendants linked to a scheme that helped Chinese nationals obtain student visas by hiring individuals who used fake Chinese passports to take an English proficiency test for the foreign students.
03/12/2019
NEW YORK, NY
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE removes Dutch national convicted of narcotics trafficking, providing support to foreign terrorist organization
ERO deportation officers escorted Jeroen Van Den Elshout, 39, to Amsterdam, via a commercial flight and transferred him into the custody of Dutch law enforcement authorities.
03/12/2019
PITTSBURGH, PA
FINANCIAL CRIMES
Puerto Rican man indicted in payment processing fraud scheme
Lancelot De Montsegur, aka Patrice Berthome, 38, was named in a one-count Indictment, returned on Feb. 19, as the as the sole defendant. He faces a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000 or both.
03/11/2019
NEWARK, NJ
NARCOTICS
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Authorities seize approximately 3,200 pounds of cocaine
An examination of a shipping container entering the United States revealed 60 packages containing a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine. This apprehension is the second largest cocaine seizure at the Port of New York/Newark, and the largest in nearly 25 years.
03/11/2019
CONROE, TX
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Former Texas A&M Forest Service firefighter ordered to serve 30 years for sexual assaulting a girl for 9 years
On March 6, in the 359th Montgomery County (Texas) District Court, Jeffrey Pittman, 47, from Porter, Texas, pleaded guilty to and was ordered to serve 30 years in prison for continuous sexual assault of a child; he was also sentenced to 20 years for sexual assault of a child. Pittman’s sentences are to be served concurrently. He is not eligible for early parole.
03/11/2019
DETROIT, MI
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
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Homeland Security officials launch new Detroit task force to protect national security, thwart counterfeits
In an effort to mitigate vulnerabilities within the commerce stream that threaten the nation’s consumers and to protect national security, Homeland Security officials recently launched its Global Trade Task Force (GTTF), an ICE HSI-led multi-agency effort that leverages robust import and export controls and investigative authorities to combat illicit commercial activities.
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