I.C.E. Top Stories: Last Week


08/04/2016

NEW YORK, NY

NARCOTICS

Members of Queens-based drug trafficking crew indicted for heroin trafficking conspiracy, kidnapping, firearms offenses
“Drugs and guns are a deadly combination and every seizure makes our community safer. These arrests and indictments demonstrate our relentless pursuit to remove drug traffickers from our streets,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez. “The safety of our communities is one of HSI’s top priorities. HSI and our state, federal, and local law enforcement partners pool information and resources to target drug smuggling and related criminal elements.”



08/03/2016

PHOENIX, AZ



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE deports 2 fugitive foreign murder suspects recently captured in Arizona
One of the murder suspects, Francisco Inestroza-Martinez, 35, is a former Honduran police officer wanted in his native country on a homicide related charge. Inestroza was repatriated to Honduras on board a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s IAO. The second fugitive repatriated Wednesday, Jesus Balderama-Vega, 55, is the subject of a criminal warrant issued in 2006 by authorities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa charging him with the shooting death of a 55-year-old man that occurred the year before.



08/03/2016

ALBUQUERQUE, NM



WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT


2 New Mexico businesses join ICE IMAGE program
IMAGE is a voluntary program that allows private industry to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reduce unauthorized employment and the use of fraudulent identity documents. ICE is striving to achieve the highest level of workforce integrity throughout the country by coordinating closely with industry partners.



08/02/2016

PHILADELPHIA, PA



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE detainer filed against Honduran national accused of raping a child
Ramon Aguirre-Ochoa, 45, is charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, indecent assault on person less than 13, indecent exposure, and simple assault. He is currently being held at Curran Frommhold Correctional Facility on a $500,000 bail.




08/02/2016

NEW YORK, NY



NARCOTICS


Former top leaders of Venezuela’s anti-narcotics agency indicted for trafficking drugs to the US
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) is charging Nestor Luis Reverol Torres, the former general director of Venezuela’s ONA and former commander of Venezuela’s National Guard, and Edylberto Jose Molina Molina, the former sub-director of ONA and currently Venezuela’s military attaché to Germany, for trafficking drugs to the United States while they served for the ONA.

https://www.ice.gov/news/top-stories...week&created=1

I.C.E. News Releases



08/05/2016

COVINGTON, KY



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Kentucky man sentenced to 20 years in prison for distributing child pornography
Paul Morris, 40, of Dayton, Kentucky, was sentenced Aug. 3 by U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar to 20 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.



08/05/2016

NEW YORK, NY



TRANSNATIONAL GANGS


MS-13 members plead guilty to murder of 19-year-old man on Long Island
In recent court proceedings, defendants Milton Contreras and Jose Osmin Rubio pleaded guilty to murder of the 19-year-old victim, fellow gang member Sidney Valverde. In the past month, two additional defendants, Byron Lopez and Oscar Welman Espinoza-Merino, had also pled guilty and admitted their participation in the murder.



08/04/2016

TYLER, TX



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Former East Texas church pastor sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography
Chad Calhoun, 33, of Longview, Texas, was convicted by a federal jury Dec. 10, 2015, for receiving and possessing child pornography. He was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider Aug. 3. Upon his release from custody, Calhoun must also serve a term of supervised release of 10 years and will be required to register as a sex offender.



08/04/2016

NEW YORK, NY



NARCOTICS


Members of Queens-based drug trafficking crew indicted for heroin trafficking conspiracy, kidnapping, firearms offenses
“Drugs and guns are a deadly combination and every seizure makes our community safer. These arrests and indictments demonstrate our relentless pursuit to remove drug traffickers from our streets,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez. “The safety of our communities is one of HSI’s top priorities. HSI and our state, federal, and local law enforcement partners pool information and resources to target drug smuggling and related criminal elements.”




08/04/2016

SOUTH BEND, IN



INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS


Authorities seize more than 3,000 counterfeit items in northern Indiana
The counterfeit merchandise seized included shoes, hats, purses, various clothing items and other luxury accessories. These items were found to be imitations of name-brand merchandise, such as: Nike Air Jordan, Michael Kors, Timberland, North Face, Polo, NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB.



08/04/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



OPERATIONAL


We are DHS
Last week, more than 2,600 personnel from the Department of Homeland Security ensured the safety and security of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. They started their work only hours after completing the same task at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.



08/04/2016

DALLAS, TX



PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY


Former ICE HSI employee faces up to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing government property
Dwight Horton, 51, a resident of Grand Prairie, Texas, appeared in federal court Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver and pleaded guilty to a felony Information charging one count of theft of government property.



08/03/2016

PECOS, TX



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Former West Texas elementary school teacher pleads guilty to federal child pornography charges
Javier Carlos Arteta Franco, 58, residing in Fort Stockton, faces between five and 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography. By pleading guilty, he admitted that from December 2014 to August 2015, he used a file-sharing program to download to his personal computer videos and images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.




08/03/2016

PHOENIX, AZ



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE deports 2 fugitive foreign murder suspects recently captured in Arizona
One of the murder suspects, Francisco Inestroza-Martinez, 35, is a former Honduran police officer wanted in his native country on a homicide related charge. Inestroza was repatriated to Honduras on board a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s IAO. The second fugitive repatriated Wednesday, Jesus Balderama-Vega, 55, is the subject of a criminal warrant issued in 2006 by authorities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa charging him with the shooting death of a 55-year-old man that occurred the year before.



08/03/2016

ALBUQUERQUE, NM



WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT


2 New Mexico businesses join ICE IMAGE program
IMAGE is a voluntary program that allows private industry to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reduce unauthorized employment and the use of fraudulent identity documents. ICE is striving to achieve the highest level of workforce integrity throughout the country by coordinating closely with industry partners.



08/03/2016

DENVER, CO



INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS


4 Colorado men charged in counterfeit Denver Broncos merchandise scheme
The charges allege that Marc Alan Misko, 62, Mitchell Jay Misko, 62, David Brian Henrichsen, 51, and Glenn Ford, 63, operated a business selling counterfeit sports merchandise at the Mile High Flea Market from Nov. 14, 2006 to Jan. 10, 2015. The merchandise was falsely marked and identified as official merchandise for the Denver Broncos and other Denver professional and college teams as well as teams based in other cities throughout the country.



08/02/2016

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Oklahoma man sentenced to serve more than 27 years in federal prison for producing child pornography
According to court records, in July 2014, Donnie Ray Schultz, 45, of Del City, Oklahoma, began engaging in sex acts with the then 14-year-old girl, whom he met through a religion class he taught at a Del City church. According to those records, the sex acts occurred between July 2014 and November 2015.




08/02/2016

PHILADELPHIA, PA



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE detainer filed against Honduran national accused of raping a child
Ramon Aguirre-Ochoa, 45, is charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, indecent assault on person less than 13, indecent exposure, and simple assault. He is currently being held at Curran Frommhold Correctional Facility on a $500,000 bail.



08/02/2016

NEW YORK, NY



NARCOTICS


Former top leaders of Venezuela’s anti-narcotics agency indicted for trafficking drugs to the US
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) is charging Nestor Luis Reverol Torres, the former general director of Venezuela’s ONA and former commander of Venezuela’s National Guard, and Edylberto Jose Molina Molina, the former sub-director of ONA and currently Venezuela’s military attaché to Germany, for trafficking drugs to the United States while they served for the ONA.



08/02/2016

ALBUQUERQUE, NM



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Convicted NM sex offender facing federal child pornography charges
Timothy J. Martin, 32, from Taos, New Mexico, was released to a halfway house pending trial and will be under pretrial supervision and other conditions of release.



08/01/2016

SHERMAN, TX



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Former North Texas elementary school principal sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for sexually enticing children
Oscar Figueroa, 47, of Carrollton, Texas, was convicted by a federal jury April 1 for attempting to coerce and entice minors. He was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison Aug. 1 by U.S. District Judge Amos L Mazzant. Figueroa was also ordered to pay fines and assessments totaling $17,600. Upon his release from custody, Figueroa will also serve 10 years of supervised release and he will be required to register as a sex offender.




08/01/2016

SPRINGFIELD, IL



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Illinois man sentenced to 11 years in prison for attempting to entice a minor
Jeffrey Parkhurst, 59, of Springfield, was sentenced Aug. 1 by U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce, Central District of Illinois, to 132 months in federal prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release. Parkhurst was convicted by a federal jury March 31.



08/01/2016

LOS ANGELES, CA



CHILD EXPLOITATION


California man sentenced to 70 years in federal prison for traveling to Cambodia to engage in illicit sex with young girls
Ronald Gerard Boyajian, 55, who previously resided in Menlo Park and has spent time on the Palos Verdes peninsula, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder. The case is the result of a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Los Angeles and HSI's Attaché Offices in Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh, with the assistance of the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh.



07/29/2016

NEW YORK, NY



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE detainee passes away at New York hospital
Santo Carela, 60, was pronounced dead two days after he had been taken to the hospital, where he was admitted for additional diagnostic tests. Carela’s next of kin was notified of his death by the attending physician.



07/29/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
While human trafficking can occur in a variety of scenarios and industries, indicators of trafficking activities often look the same across cases. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) participates in a variety of human trafficking awareness events during National Slavery and Trafficking Prevention month and throughout the year.




07/29/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



FINANCIAL CRIMES


ICE and federal partners conclude successful anti-money laundering conference
The audience of over 450 attendees comprised representatives from financial sector compliance, anti-money laundering and financial intelligence investigators, and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.



07/29/2016

TUCSON, AZ



NARCOTICS


Authorities execute warrants targeting Tucson-based spice distribution ring
During the day’s enforcement actions, investigators seized approximately 600 pounds of synthetic cannabinoids and dismantled a possible spice lab. Investigators also seized several luxury vehicles and over $350,000 in cash.



07/29/2016

FRESNO, CA



CONTRABAND


17 indicted on firearms and drug trafficking charges after multiagency sweep
According to the first indictment, between Feb. 1 and July 21, Christopher Martinez Sr., 45; Randy Seja, 24; Felix Gago, 40; and Christopher Martinez Jr., 23, conspired to possess and distribute methamphetamine. In the second indictment, Gilberto Zarate, 34; Jorge Calestino Alvarez-Arias, 27; Marco Mosqueda, 27; Frances Reyna, 55; Gabriel Galvan, 27; Rafael Delatorre, 32; Jose Delatorre, 22; Alfonso Esparza, 38; and Gabriel Esparza, 37, are charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and distribution of methamphetamine. Zarate, along with Alfonso Esparza and Gabriel Esparza, are also charged with being felons in possession of firearms. The third indictment adds defendant Cecilio Alaniz, 26, and Christopher Valdez, 35, to an indictment that originally charged Jesse Mendoza, 36, and Roxana Dodier, 23.



07/28/2016

SAN JUAN, <acronym title="Google Page Ranking">PR</acronym>



CONTRABAND


Operation '8 Ball' nets 44 arrests for drug trafficking, firearms violations
“This case, once more, exemplifies that those involved in the distribution of narcotics and other contraband will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted,” said Ricardo Mayoral, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. “HSI thanks our federal and local federal law enforcement partners for their significant cooperation in dismantling this drug trafficking organization.”

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