Immigrant sweep arrests 116 in N.J.
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 06/15/06
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEWARK — Authorities arrested 116 illegal immigrants and foreign fugitives in New Jersey, including 22 gang members in Red Bank, as part of a nationwide crackdown on alleged gang members, drug dealers and other criminals, officials said Wednesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement also made arrests in Plainfield and other locations in recent weeks.

The national operation, named Operation Return to Sender, began May 26 and ended Tuesday. Nationwide, 2,179 people were arrested, about half of them with criminal records for crimes including sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.

A narcotics ring operating in Plainfield imported cocaine directly from Guatemala and supplied the drugs to local MS-13 gang members and associates who distributed them, authorities said.

Three gang associates were charged under federal law with conspiracy to distribute cocaine; four others are charged under state law with drug distribution. Sixteen other gang members and associates are being held on immigration charges for being in this country illegally.

Also arrested were 22 members of Los Cafeteros and Sureno 13 gangs in Red Bank. All of the gang members are being held on immigration charges, and their names were not being made public, according to Mike Gilhooly, spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Newark.

"Many of the individuals being detained have criminal records in New Jersey," Gilhooly said in a news statement. "The operation in Red Bank was the result of an intensive investigation involving local and federal authorities to identify and target gang members operating in the community."

Red Bank arrests

Red Bank police assisted in the investigation and the arrests, said Police Chief Mark Fitgerald, who declined to provide additional details.

"The gang problem in New Jersey generally and Monmouth County specifically has increased dramatically in recent years," county Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said in the statement. "It is necessary that we form true partnerships amongst federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies to protect our communities and our children. An operation such as this ultimately serves to increase public safety."

Among those arrested in Plainfield was Douglas Melgar-Rivera, a.k.a. "Plo Plo," who is the leader of the Plainfield MS-13, the largest clique of MS-13 known to law enforcement in the state, Gilhooly said.

Three of the gang associates in Plainfield have been charged federally with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and four are charged under New Jersey state law with distribution of a controlled substance, Gilhooly said. The other 16 gang members and associates are being held on immigration charges for being illegally in the United States, Gilhooly said.

Facing federal criminal charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance are:

Jhony Valiente-Turcios, 26, of Guatemala.

Willin Alexander Perez, 30, of Guatemala.

Carlos Alexander Sagastume-Sagastume, 23, of Guatemala.

Facing New Jersey charges of distributing a controlled substance are:

Alberto Rodriguez, a.k.a. "Beto," 26, of the Dominican Republic.

Miguel Angel Carrera-Castro, 24, of Guatemala.

Milton Vargas-Olive, 29, of Guatemala.

Jose Luis Aguillar, 32, of Guatemala.

"Operation Return to Sender is a clear message that ICE and our law enforcement partners will seek out and arrest gang members, associates and other criminal aliens who are destroying the quality of life and endangering public safety in New Jersey," said Kyle Hutchins, special agent in charge of ICE's office of investigations in Newark.

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