ICE's Top 5

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent this bulletin at 12/05/2016 01:36 PM EST
Dec. 1, 2016 – ICE returns ancient artifacts to Egypt

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) repatriated five illegally smuggled ancient artifacts to the government of Egypt, including a mummy hand from the eighth century BCE, at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C
Full Story
Dec. 1, 2016 – ICE Health Service Corps is committed to helping those in need

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Health Service Corps (IHSC) provides needed medical care to detainees. Full Story
Nov. 28, 2016 – 'Operation In Our Sites' keeps Internet clear of fakes

There were roughly 15,000 illegal websites seized and 48,000 erroneous e-commerce links removed over the past year as part of Operation In Our Sites VII, an effort conducted by ICE, Europol, Interpol and members of industry. Full Story
Nov. 29, 2016 – ERO Intern goes home for Veterans Day

U.S. Army Sgt. Timothy Michael (Mike) Goodrich went to a basketball game Nov. 11 and left with a custom-built home. Sgt. Goodrich currently serves as an intern with ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) in the agency’s Washington, D.C. field office. Full Story
Dec. 2, 2016 – ICE HSI Rapid Response Teams prove their motto "Anytime, Anywhere" in the wake of Hurricane Matthew

For several days in early October, Hurricane Matthew battered the southeast and prompted President Obama to declare it a disaster area. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) from Detroit, Newark, New York, National Capital Region and New Orleans responded and assisted in the Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts. Full Story



I.C.E. News Releases

12/02/2016

DALLAS, TX

NARCOTICS

Former American Airlines employee sentenced to 6 years in federal prison for her role in a cocaine transporting conspiracy on DFW airport flights
Janelle Isaacs, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 72 months in federal prison following her guilty plea in June 2016 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute at least five kilograms or more of cocaine



12/02/2016

FORT WORTH, TX

NARCOTICS


Mexican man sentenced to 2 life sentences for his role in North Texas murder in May 2013
Jose Luis Cepeda Cortes, 60, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to two life sentences plus 240 months, which will run concurrently. Cepeda Cortes was convicted at trial in May 2016 on one count of interstate stalking, one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire and one count of tampering with documents or proceedings.



12/01/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



CULTURAL PROPERTY, ART AND ANTIQUITIES INVESTIGATIONS


ICE returns ancient artifacts to Egypt
On Sept. 8, 2009, HSI New York recovered a nesting sarcophagus from a garage in Brooklyn, New York. One year later, on Sept. 24, 2010, following leads from the Brooklyn case, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Newark seized a shipment of smuggled Egyptian goods, including a funerary boat model and figurines.



12/01/2016

DALLAS, TX



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE Dallas officers deport Kyrgyzstan man wanted for fraud
Bekbosun Kydykbaev, aka Bekbolsun Kadyrovich Kydykbaev, 66, departed Dallas under ICE escort Nov. 28 by commercial aircraft and arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Nov. 30, via Chicago and Istanbul, Turkey.




12/01/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



OPERATIONAL


ICE Health Service Corps is committed to helping those in need
Every day the women and men of IHSC confront challenging situations on the front lines of immigration enforcement as they compassionately tend to ICE detainee’s medical, dental and mental health needs. The population they work with includes women, children and men with varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and nationalities.



12/01/2016

NEWARK, NJ



WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT


2 charged with human trafficking, harboring foreign workers following NJ poultry slaughterhouse probe
Mohammad Abdul Wahid, 54, of Queens, New York, and Mohammed Iqbal Kabir, 42, of Bronx, New York, are charged by complaint with one count each of conspiracy to commit human trafficking related offenses, conspiracy to harbor undocumented persons for financial gain; and violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.



11/30/2016

PHILADELPHIA, PA



FINANCIAL CRIMES


PA bar owner sentenced in financial fraud case
William Joseph Boyle, age 47, of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 78 months and ordered to pay $429,000 in restitution, three years supervised release, $1,000 special assessment, and forfeiture of $415,000.



11/30/2016

FORT WORTH, TX



HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


Last of 9 defendants pleads guilty to North Texas gang child sex trafficking conspiracy
A total of nine defendants were charged in this case, all of whom are members of the Polywood Crips gang in Fort Worth. Five defendants were charged in the indictment with Nobles: Chad Johnson, aka “Ocho Hood Fame,” 24, Audry Lane, aka “Spud,” 29, Deon Bonner, aka “Spanish Fly,” 26, Stanley Johnson, aka “Pee Wee,” 24, and Katelyn Michelle Ward, aka “KD,” 24.




11/30/2016

NEW YORK, NY



CULTURAL PROPERTY, ART AND ANTIQUITIES INVESTIGATIONS


ICE HSI, Tamil Nadu Police arrest major India-based artifact smugglers
Vallabh Prakash, 86, and his son Aditya Prakash, 47, both were arrested at their homes in Mumbai, India. Each is being charged by Indian authorities with smuggling idols stolen from temples in India. Originally from Nepal, the Prakash family settled in Mumbai in 1959.



11/30/2016

RIVERSIDE, CA



HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


Alleged pimp arrested on sex trafficking charges related to teen victim who worked as prostitute in Los Angeles area
Lawrence Gunn Jr., 32, was taken into custody based on a criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court that charges him with sex trafficking of a child by force, fraud or coercion.



11/30/2016

ALBUQUERQUE, NM



NARCOTICS


NM man pleads guilty to violating federal firearms, drug trafficking laws
Jeffrey Burlingame, 59, was arrested in February 2016 on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The complaint alleged that Burlingame committed the crime Feb. 24, 2016, in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.



11/29/2016

SAN ANTONIO, TX



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE South Texas officers deport Salvadoran man wanted for aggravated homicide
Julio Cesar Velasquez-Reyes, 25, was flown to El Salvador Nov. 29 and turned over to Salvadoran officials. The El Salvador arrest warrant states that on March 24, 2014, Velasquez-Reyes met with a man named David Eliseo in the area of El Cuco Chirilagua, San Miguel.




11/29/2016

SAN ANTONIO, TX



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE South Texas officers deport Salvadoran man wanted for aggravated robbery and prison break
Jose Ever Bonilla-Rodriguez, 33, was flown to El Salvador Nov. 29 and turned over to Salvadoran officials. The El Salvador arrest warrant states that on Sept. 25, 2012, Bonilla-Rodriguez was sent to prison for his role in an aggravated robbery.



11/29/2016

EL PASO, TX



NARCOTICS


Previously convicted El Paso man pleads guilty in drug trafficking criminal enterprise case
Samuel Velasco Gurrola, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. He faces up to life in federal prison when sentenced.



11/29/2016

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX



HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


2 US Army soldiers plead guilty in Southeast Texas federal court to human smuggling
Marco Antonio Nava Jr., 19, and Joseph Edmond Cleveland, 25, both from El Paso, Texas, admitted they smuggled two illegal aliens through the Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas.



11/29/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



OPERATIONAL


ERO Intern goes home for Veterans Day
The project was led by Operation Finally Home, an organization that provides mortgage free homes to America’s military heroes, as well as home building firms Miller and Smith and Newland Communities. The groundbreaking for the house begins Nov. 14 and the Goodrich family will move into their new Stafford, Virginia home in March 2017.




11/29/2016

LAREDO, TX



CONTRABAND


2 sentenced in South Texas to at least 5 years in federal prison for firearms trafficking to Mexico
Claudia Raquel Herrera-Ibarra, 35, of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Jonathan James Ruiz, 24, of Laredo, were sentenced to 60 and 84 months imprisonment, respectively, by U.S. District Judge Mariana Garcia Marmolego.



11/28/2016

SAN ANTONIO, TX



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE detainee passes away at South Texas hospital
A Brazilian national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) passed away Nov. 25 at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, with a preliminary cause of death identified as cardiac arrest.



11/28/2016

PHOENIX, AZ



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE detainee passes away at Arizona hospital
A Guatemalan national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) passed away Sunday morning at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center (BCGMC) in Casa Grande after hospital staff were unable to revive her.



11/28/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS


'Operation In Our Sites' keeps Internet clear of fakes
There were roughly 15,000 illegal websites seized and 48,000 erroneous ecommerce links removed over the past year as part of Operation In Our Sites VII, an effort conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Europol, Interpol and members of industry to crackdown on individuals using the Internet to peddle bogus goods and other copyright-protected material that threaten the health and safety of shoppers.




11/23/2016

NEW YORK, NY



CHILD EXPLOITATION


New York high school teacher arrested for child pornography
Nicholas Pagliuca, 65, of Mamaroneck, New York, allegedly downloaded hundreds of files containing images and videos of child pornography.



11/23/2016

PROVIDENCE, RI



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Rhode Island man sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking a minor
On June 30, 2015, HSI agents, Providence Police detectives and members of the Human Trafficking Task Force located the victim in Harris’ apartment in Providence and rescued her. Investigators discovered numerous nude photographs of the 17-year-old victim on Harris’ cell phone.






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