Thread: ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending March 25, 2016

I.C.E. News Release
OPERATIONAL
03/28/2016

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending March 25, 2016





March 23, 2016 — Feds dismantle another cross-border drug tunnel, seizing over a ton of marijuana and making multiple arrests

Federal officials seized a cross-border tunnel Wednesday morning following a lengthy multi-agency investigation that resulted in six arrests and the confiscation of more than a ton of marijuana. Full Story

March 22, 2016 — IPR Center strengthens relationships to fight online crime

Key agencies from the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) are collaborating with leading digital marketing associations to prevent digital advertising fraud, eliminate the spread of malware and fight online piracy. Full Story

March 23, 2016 — ICE arrests California man for attempted sex trafficking of children

A man who traveled from California to Puerto Rico to allegedly engage in criminal sexual conduct with a 9-year-old minor was arrested Saturday for attempted sex trafficking of children. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted the investigation that led to the arrest. Full Story

March 25, 2016 — Women's History Month Spotlight: HSI Dallas SAC Katrina Berger

Not a day goes by that ICE HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Katrina Berger doesn't take a moment to sit back in awe of where life has taken her. Full Story

March 25, 2016 — Cold case arrest highlights cooperation between ICE and U.S. Marshals Service

A fugitive recently arrested in Houston, Texas, for the 2009 rape of a 13-year-old girl has been remanded into the custody of the Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) on a felony warrant and is awaiting extradition to Virginia. Following a lead from the United States Marshals Service (USMS), Deputy U.S. Marshals and officers from ICE ERO Houston — Fugitive Operations Team located and arrested Efren Cruz-Nunez, a citizen of Honduras who entered the United States in 1998. Full Story

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ic...-march-25-2016


I.C.E. News Releases

03/28/2016

WASHINGTON, DC

TRANSNATIONAL GANGS


ICE arrests more than 1,100 in operation targeting gangs
Most of the individuals arrested during Project Shadowfire were U.S. citizens, but 239 foreign nationals from 13 countries in Central America, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean were also arrested. Of the 1,133 arrests, 915 were gang members and associates, 1,001 were charged with criminal offenses and 132 were arrested administratively for immigration violations.


03/25/2016

EL PASO, TX

CHILD EXPLOITATION


El Paso man sentenced to 20 years for receiving, distributing child pornography
Ignacio Gallegos, 27, was also ordered to be placed on supervised release for 10 years after completing his prison term. On Jan. 5, Gallegos pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography, and possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of children.


03/25/2016

LOS ANGELES, CA



OPERATIONAL


ICE 1st federal agency to partner with prominent museum on 'tools for tolerance' training
More than a year in development, the three-day course utilizing many of the MOT’s interactive exhibits challenges participants to recognize their own inherent cultural biases and identify ways to develop progressive leadership practices in their respective programs. While the course is modeled on training the MOT conducts for other state and local law enforcement agencies worldwide, including the Los Angeles Police Department, the curriculum was customized to address the unique issues inherent in ICE’s federal law enforcement mission.



03/25/2016

MINNEAPOLIS, MN



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Minnesota repeat sex offender sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography
Frank Russell McCoy, of Otsego, Minnesota, was found guilty of possessing child pornography after a two-day trial that ended Dec. 8, 2015.


03/25/2016

TUSCON, AZ



NARCOTICS


Owner of Calexico 'tunnel house' arrested in Arizona
Augustin Enrique Cruz, aka Tinky, 22, of Tucson, was taken into custody Thursday on various federal criminal charges, including narcotics trafficking, money laundering and tunnel-related offenses.


03/25/2016

LONG BEACH



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Torrance middle school teacher arrested in child pornography case
Eric James Mitchell, 36, was arrested on probable cause after HSI special agents executed a search warrant at his Long Beach residence and discovered sexually explicit images of minors on digital devices in the home.


03/25/2016

DALLAS, TX



MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION


Women's History Month Spotlight: HSI Dallas SAC Katrina Berger
Not a day goes by that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Katrina Berger doesn't take a moment to sit back in awe of where life has taken her.




03/25/2016

HOUSTON, TX



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


Cold case arrest highlights cooperation between ICE and U.S. Marshals Service
Following a lead from the United States Marshals Service (USMS), Deputy U.S. Marshals and officers from ICE ERO Houston – Fugitive Operations Team located and arrested Efren Cruz-Nunez, a citizen of Honduras who entered the United States in 1998.


03/24/2016

CONCORD, NH



HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


Massachusetts men sentenced as part of human trafficking ring
Hansel German, 25, of Boston and Andy Pena, 21, of Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts, were sentenced to eight years for aiding and abetting the transportation of a minor in interstate commerce for prostitution, and one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute. Enoc Ayuso, 26, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was also sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in the trafficking conspiracy. Rafael Reyes, 22, of Boston, has pleaded guilty to his involvement and will be sentenced next week in United States District Court.


03/24/2016

TUCSON, AZ



CONTRABAND


Feds dismantle Arizona-based firearms trafficking network
According to the indictment, the defendants conspired to fraudulently buy firearms and ammunition in the United States, also known as straw purchases. They then attempted to smuggle the items into Mexico.


03/24/2016

TUCSON, AZ



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Arizona man sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor
Michael Bluhm, 34, of Show Low, was also sentenced March 14 to 3 ½ years in prison for attempted manufacture of a narcotic drug. According to the HSI special agents who executed the state search and arrest warrants in the case, Bluhm was in possession of tens of thousands of graphic and disturbing images of child pornography, which he was sharing via a peer-to-peer website.



03/24/2016

DENVER, CO



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Colorado man and woman arrested and charged with producing and transporting child pornography involving an infant
According to evidence presented in open court, as well as arguments outlined in a public filing, in the course of online chats that occurred between Brandi Leonard, 18, and Richard Hennis, 40, spanning about two months, Leonard told Hennis that she had sexually abused an infant.


03/23/2016

LAS CRUCES, NM



CHILD EXPLOITATION


NM man pleads guilty to producing child pornography
According to the terms of the plea agreement, Robert Steven Elliott II, 32, of Deming, New Mexico, will be sentenced to between 20 and 45 years in federal prison, which will be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. The plea agreement also indicates that Elliott has agreed to pay $210,012 in restitution to the child he victimized.


03/23/2016

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CHILD EXPLOITATION


ICE arrests California man for attempted sex trafficking of children
Shane Ryan Yoder, 37, of Fairfield, California, was arrested by HSI special agents after arriving at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport from California.


03/23/2016

LOS ANGELES, CA



CHILD EXPLOITATION


California man indicted for traveling to Thailand and sexually abusing minor boys
Paul Alan Shapiro, 69, of Montrose, was originally indicted April 22, 2015, on charges relating to his travel to Thailand and illicit sexual conduct with minor boys. According to the indictment, in February 2010, Shapiro traveled from Los Angeles to Thailand, where he paid minors as young as 14 small amounts of local currency to engage in various sex acts with him.



03/23/2016

CALEXICO, CA



NARCOTICS


Feds dismantle another cross-border drug tunnel, seizing over a ton of marijuana and making multiple arrests
Two of the defendants identified during the investigation, Marcia Manuela Duarte-Medina and her mother Eva Duarte De Medina, were arrested in Nogales, Arizona, Tuesday night. Two additional defendants, Joel Duarte Medina and Manuel Gallegos Jimenez, were taken into custody Wednesday morning in Calexico.


03/23/2016

FARGO, ND



CHILD EXPLOITATION


North Dakota man sentenced to 30 years for producing child pornography
Dewayne William Barth II, 30, of Fargo, was sentenced to serve the statutory maximum of 30 years in prison on one count each of producing, possessing, and receiving and distributing child pornography.


03/23/2016

ALBUQUERQUE, NM



NARCOTICS


Mexican national convicted in New Mexico of cocaine trafficking
Edgar Solis, 29, was found guilty of attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He and his co-defendant, Daniel Solis-Castillo, 33, also an illegal alien from Mexico, were indicted in December 2013, and charged with cocaine trafficking.


03/22/2016

BANGOR, ME



DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD


Canadian man sentenced for benefit fraud, aggravated identity theft
Robert Jerome Bond, 47, of Gardiner, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for theft of public money and an additional two years for aggravated identity theft.



03/22/2016

NEWARK, NJ



NARCOTICS


2 New Jersey men in drug distribution conspiracy each sentenced to more than 18 years in prison
Christopher Castelluzzo, 31, of Bayonne, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 240 months in prison. Luke Atwell, 34, of Hamilton, New Jersey, was sentenced yesterday to 220 months in prison.


03/22/2016

BURLINGTON, VT



NARCOTICS


Vermont restauranteur arrested in connection with seizure of over 80 pounds of heroin
Marco Antonio Lam Peralta, 42, of South Londonderry, Vermont was arrested Tuesday based upon an arrest warrant for conspiracy to distribute heroin.


03/22/2016

HOUSTON, TX



FINANCIAL CRIMES


Miami-area businessman pleads guilty in Houston to foreign bribery and fraud charges in Venezuelan energy scheme
Abraham Jose Shiera Bastidas (Shiera), 52, of Coral Gables, Florida, pleaded guilty March 22 in federal court before U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and commit wire fraud, and one count of violating the FCPA.


03/22/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS


IPR Center strengthens relationships to fight online crime
IPR Center leadership and representatives from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and FBI held a roundtable discussion last month with staff from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), a joint advertising industry initiative to fight crime in the digital ad supply chain, to review priorities, set common goals and objectives and determine opportunities for successful collaboration.



03/22/2016

FORT WORTH, TX



FINANCIAL CRIMES


Jamaican fraudster sentenced in North Texas to 6 ½ years in federal prison for running lottery/sweepstakes scam
Andre Hugh Saunders, 35, aka David Turner, has been in custody since his arrest in October 2015 in New York on a criminal complaint.

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