I.C.E. Top Stories: Last Week 02/05/2018
Top Stories: Last Week
02/01/2018
PHOENIX, AZ
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
ICE repatriates Mexican national wanted for homicide and violent robbery
Gilberto Ramos-Prado, 46, was transferred to the custody of representatives from Mexico’s Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) and Mexican immigration officials by ERO officers at the Nogales DeConcini Port of Entry. Gilberto Ramos-Prado most recently came into ICE custody Jan. 12, after serving four months in federal prison for an illegal re-entry conviction.
02/01/2018
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
'Operation Team Player' nets over $15 million in fake sports merchandise
Special agents from HSI teamed with industry, CBP, FBI, Minneapolis police officers and other partner agencies to identify flea markets, retail outlets and street vendors selling counterfeit goods during the week leading up to Super Bowl LII. They seized fake jerseys, hats, cell-phone accessories and thousands of other bogus items prepared to be sold to unsuspecting consumers.
01/31/2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE removes former soldier of the Republika Serbian Krajina wanted for aggravated murder
Slobodan Mutic, 54, is wanted by Croatian authorities for aggravated murder. He was ordered removed on Oct. 23, 2017, by a federal immigration judge based on his criminal conviction. On Jan. 6, 2016, Slobodan was sentenced to two years in prison, for knowingly and willingly possessing a Form I-94, arrival/departure record, knowing it to have been procured by means of any false claim or statement, or to have been otherwise procured by fraud and unlawfully obtained.
01/30/2018
NEW YORK, NY
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE returns prolific Colombian international money launderer
Jhon Hincapie-Ramirez, 57, was escorted by ERO officers via an ICE Air Operations charter flight and turned over to Colombian law enforcement authorities. In February 2015, Hincapie-Ramirez was charged in U.S. federal court with conspiracy to launder money.
01/30/2018
NEW YORK, NY
OPERATIONAL
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE HSI Special Agent Celestino Martinez to attend State of the Union Address
ICE HSI Supervisory Special Agent Celestino Martinez will attend the State of Union Address as a guest of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in recognition of Martinez's extraordinary work combatting transnational criminal gangs in New York.
https://www.ice.gov/news/top-stories...week&created=1
I.C.E. News Releases
02/05/2018
DETROIT, MI
HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
Reward for information leading to capture of fugitive human trafficking suspect increased to $16,000
Darrick Bell, 49, aka Tone or Ghost, a U.S. citizen, is the subject of a yearlong manhunt, following the takedown of a large-scale, Detroit-based human trafficking and narcotics operation in January 2017.
02/01/2018
PHOENIX, AZ
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
ICE repatriates Mexican national wanted for homicide and violent robbery
Gilberto Ramos-Prado, 46, was transferred to the custody of representatives from Mexico’s Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) and Mexican immigration officials by ERO officers at the Nogales DeConcini Port of Entry. Gilberto Ramos-Prado most recently came into ICE custody Jan. 12, after serving four months in federal prison for an illegal re-entry conviction.
02/01/2018
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
'Operation Team Player' nets over $15 million in fake sports merchandise
Special agents from HSI teamed with industry, CBP, FBI, Minneapolis police officers and other partner agencies to identify flea markets, retail outlets and street vendors selling counterfeit goods during the week leading up to Super Bowl LII. They seized fake jerseys, hats, cell-phone accessories and thousands of other bogus items prepared to be sold to unsuspecting consumers.
02/01/2018
SEATTLE, WA
COUNTER PROLIFERATION INVESTIGATION UNIT
2 men indicted for scheme to export firearms to Kurds in Iraq
Paul Stuart Brunt, 51, of Bellevue, Washington, and Rawnd Khaleel Aldalawi, 29, of Seattle, were arrested on a criminal complaint January 24, 2018.
01/31/2018
ATLANTA, GA
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
ICE detainee passes away
ICE is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody and is undertaking a comprehensive review of this incident, as it does in all such cases. Fatalities in ICE custody, statistically, are exceedingly rare and occur at a fraction of the rate of the U.S. detained population as a whole.
01/31/2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE removes former soldier of the Republika Serbian Krajina wanted for aggravated murder
Slobodan Mutic, 54, is wanted by Croatian authorities for aggravated murder. He was ordered removed on Oct. 23, 2017, by a federal immigration judge based on his criminal conviction. On Jan. 6, 2016, Slobodan was sentenced to two years in prison, for knowingly and willingly possessing a Form I-94, arrival/departure record, knowing it to have been procured by means of any false claim or statement, or to have been otherwise procured by fraud and unlawfully obtained.
01/30/2018
WASHINGTON, DC
NARCOTICS
Maryland man sentenced to 102 months for drug trafficking
Bradley Cobbler, 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana. He was sentenced Jan. 29 by the Honorable Amit P. Mehta. Following his prison term, Cobbler will be placed on five years of supervised release.
01/30/2018
NEW YORK, NY
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE returns prolific Colombian international money launderer
Jhon Hincapie-Ramirez, 57, was escorted by ERO officers via an ICE Air Operations charter flight and turned over to Colombian law enforcement authorities. In February 2015, Hincapie-Ramirez was charged in U.S. federal court with conspiracy to launder money.
01/30/2018
NEW YORK, NY
OPERATIONAL
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE HSI Special Agent Celestino Martinez to attend State of the Union Address
ICE HSI Supervisory Special Agent Celestino Martinez will attend the State of Union Address as a guest of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in recognition of Martinez's extraordinary work combatting transnational criminal gangs in New York.
01/30/2018
PITTSBURGH, PA
FINANCIAL CRIMES
3 sentenced in counterfeit credit card scheme
Raul Perez, 38, sentenced to 24 months imprisonment with credit for time served, three years supervised release and restitution in the amount of $14,992.96; Alexis Delgado, 44, sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with credit for time served, three years supervised release, restitution in the amount of $14,992.96, and a $5,000 fine; and, Leyanis Menendez, 38, sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with credit for time served, three years supervised release, restitution in the amount of $14,992.96, and a $5,000 fine.
01/29/2018
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail Board upholds current ICE notification policy
At its Thursday meeting, members of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail (ACRJ) Board voted to uphold current jail policy to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) up to 48 hours in advance of an alien’s release from local custody.
01/26/2018
DALLAS, TX
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE arrests 86 in North Texas and Oklahoma areas during 3-day operation targeting criminal aliens and immigration fugitives
Aliens arrested during this operation are from the following countries: Mexico (55), Guatemala (10), El Salvador (6), Honduras (4) Bangladesh (3), Cameroon (1) Jordan (1), Laos (1), Liberia (1), Nigeria (1), Panama (1), Philippines (1) and Zimbabwe (1).
01/26/2018
BALTIMORE, MD
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE removes fugitive alien wanted for human trafficking in El Salvador
Oscar Arturo Alfaro-Romero, a 35-year-old alien fugitive with multiple prior removals, was arrested by ICE May 10, 2017. He was processed as an alien previously removed, and qualified for removal under reinstatement. ICE was subsequently notified that Alfaro-Romero was wanted for crimes in El Salvador.
01/26/2018
BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Colombian National Police and ICE open forensic laboratory dedicated to child exploitation investigations
Since 2014, HSI Bogota has prioritized the investigation of child exploitation/child pornography in Colombia and has conducted extensive training for the CNP and prosecutors. However, Colombia did not have a cyber forensics laboratory dedicated to analyzing electronic media, which caused a delay in investigations. Now, with the help of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), this state of the art lab will streamline investigations and eventually be used to assist other countries in the region in child exploitation investigations.
01/26/2018
PHOENIX, AZ
CHILD EXPLOITATION
2 additional men convicted in large scale child exploitation conspiracy
Dylan Heatherly, 34, of Lemon Grove, Calif. and William Staples, 57, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, were convicted Thursday of multiple child exploitation crimes, including conspiracy offenses, after a seven-day jury trial.
01/24/2018
SHERMAN, TX
COUNTER PROLIFERATION INVESTIGATION UNIT
North Texas man sentenced to nearly 4 years in federal prison for conspiring to illegally export radiation-hardened integrated circuits to Russia and China
According to the plea agreement, between about June 2015 and March 2016, Peter Zuccarelli, 62, of Plano, Texas, and his co-conspirators agreed to illegally export RHICs to China and Russia in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
01/19/2018
NEW YORK, NY
HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE HSI Special Agents featured in National Geographic documentary series
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Eduardo Escobar, along with other personnel from HSI Colombia, will be featured in part 3 of the documentary series Chain of Command airing Jan. 19 on National Geographic Channel.
01/18/2018
NEW YORK, NY
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE removes French national wanted for murder
ERO deportation officers escorted Fode Youssouf Barro, 29, who was removed from the United States via a commercial flight. Barro was transferred into the custody of French law enforcement authorities upon arrival in Paris.
01/18/2018
WASHINGTON, DC
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS
US, ICE seek denaturalization of former Bosnian paramilitary member who allegedly lied to obtain US citizenship
Eso Razic, a native of the former Yugoslavia and subsequently a citizen of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, allegedly concealed his participation in paramilitary organizations during the 1990s Balkans conflict.
01/18/2018
BUFFALO, NY
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
ICE arrests 46 in western New York operation targeting criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants, and other immigration violators
Criminal convictions of those arrested included: felony grand larceny, firearms possession, drug possession, child endangerment, abuse, driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, and forgery.
01/18/2018
CONCORD, NH
CHILD EXPLOITATION
New Hampshire man pleads guilty to producing child pornography in ICE case
Matthew Felton, 38, of Somersworth, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of production of child pornography.
01/17/2018
WASHINGTON, DC
OPERATIONAL
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
Justice Department appoints HSI to new Hezbollah investigation team
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday, Jan. 11, the participation of ICE's HSI in the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team, a new group of prosecutors and investigators tasked with investigating individuals and networks providing support to Hezbollah.
01/17/2018
LARGO, FL
OPERATIONAL
ICE, 17 FL sheriffs announce new enforcement partnership
Recognizing these challenges, the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) and the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA) worked with ICE to develop a new process to clarify that aliens held by these jurisdictions are held under the color of federal authority, thereby affording local law enforcement liability protection from potential litigation as a result of faithfully executing their public safety duties.
01/15/2018
COLUMBUS, OH
NARCOTICS
https://www.ice.gov/profiles/ice_gov...ges/camera.png
ICE HSI Columbus special agents featured in Showtime documentary series
“The Trade” is scheduled to premiere on Showtime at 9 PM EST, Friday, Feb 2. 2018.
01/12/2018
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX
NARCOTICS
5 South Texas men sentenced to 11½ to 35 years in federal prison following their conviction on synthetic narcotics, firearms charges
Longino Castillo, 27, and Isaiah Martinez, 20, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Castillo was also convicted of possessing a machine-gun conversion device. Michael Molina, 25, Justin Ray Flores, 36, and Manuel Garcia, 31, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a synthetic cannabinoid. Molina further admitted to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being felon possessing a firearm.
Pages
