Thread: Todays arrest, seizures, bust, etc. 7/13/12

I.C.E.News Release

July 12, 2012
Jackson, MS
Human smuggler extradited from Mexico, sentenced to 3 years


JACKSON, Miss. — A Mexican fugitive who was extradited back to Mississippi to face human smuggling charges was sentenced to more than three years in prison Wednesday, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Pedro Estrada-Onofre, 50, was initially arrested in January 2008 after the vehicle he was driving was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Hinds County, Miss. In September 2008, Estrada-Onofre failed to appear at a scheduled hearing on his case in Mississippi. A bench warrant was then issued for his arrest. In February 2011, the U.S. Marshals Service reported that Estrada-Onofre had been located in Mexico. The U.S. Department of Justice requested a provisional arrest warrant through the Department of State with Mexican law enforcement. Estrada-Onofre was arrested January 23 by Mexican law enforcement in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. He was extradited from Mexico City to the Southern District of Mississippi June 15 and will serve 37 months in the federal penitentiary.

"This sentence is a testament to cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border," said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New Orleans. "I credit the persistence of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi for ensuring that Mr. Estrada-Onofre did not escape justice for his crimes."

Operation UNIFORCE was a Border Patrol operation conducted over a two-week period in January 2008. The Border Patrol brought in a mobile processing truck and about 50 patrol agents from the Southwest border in order to apprehend and interview recently entered illegal aliens. The operation resulted in the arrest of 406 illegal aliens.

In conjunction with the operation, HSI special agents interviewed several drivers and co-drivers and reviewed evidence discovered in the vehicles. As a result, HSI special agents referred eight subjects for criminal prosecution for transportation of illegal aliens. Six of those subjects, including Estrada-Onofre, were convicted in 2008. One case involving two suspects is still being adjudicated.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423 or complete our tip form.

• U.S. Dept of Homeland Security
• Human smuggler extradited from Mexico, sentenced to 3 years

Local News for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Border Patrol Agents Apprehend 19 Cuban Migrants in the Florida Keys
07/13/2012 12:29 PM EDT
Pembroke Pines, Fla. - Yesterday Border Patrol agents assigned to the U.S. Border Patrol's Miami Sector apprehended 19 Cuban nationals on Boot Key near Marathon, Fla. The group of 19 Cuban nationals consisted of 10 adult males, 8 adult females, and one minor accompanied by a parent. (more)

CBP Stops Dangerous Hitchhikers at El Paso Port
07/13/2012 12:29 PM EDT
El Paso, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists working at the El Paso port of entry discovered living fruit fly larvae in a mango July 8. It was the third such incident recorded at the El Paso port since early June.. (more)

New Recovery Act-Funded Land Port of Entry Opens at Maida
07/13/2012 12:29 PM EDT
Pembina, N.D. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced the opening of a new land border port of entry in Maida, N.D. This new border facility-funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)-replaces an outdated facility, strengthens security and the facilitation of legal travel and trade made through ports of entry along the Northern border. (more)

U.S. Border Patrol Agents Seize $441K of Meth at I-15 Checkpoint
07/13/2012 12:29 PM EDT
Escondido, Calif. - U.S. Border Patrol agents intercepted a narcotics smuggling attempt on Interstate 15 yesterday resulting in the seizure of more than 22 pounds of methamphetamine.At approximately 9:30 a.m., agents encountered a 28-year-old male Mexican national driving a silver 2000 Volkswagen Jetta at the I-15 Border Patrol checkpoint. (more)

www.ice.gov

FBI E-Mail Updates

Scam Warning: Citadel Malware Delivers Reveton Ransomware in Attempts to Extort Money July 13, 2012 - Newark Wyoming County Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Transporting Sexually Explicit Images of Minors July 13, 2012 - Pittsburgh Madison Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography July 12, 2012 - Springfield, Newark Albuquerque FBI Offers $20,000 Reward in 1994 Attempted Robbery, Slaying July 12, 2012 - Albuquerque Four Charged in $11 Million Loan Origination Scheme, Ramona Real Estate Agent and Seattle Businessman Enter Guilty Pleas July 12, 2012 - San Diego www.fbi.gov

Department of JusticeOffice of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 13, 2012

National President, National Vice President and 39 Members and Associates of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Gang Indicted

An indictment unsealed today in the Eastern District of Michigan charges 41 members and associates of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Gang, including National President Jeff Garvin Smith and National Vice President Paul Anthony Darrah, for their alleged participation in a variety of criminal offenses, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan and FBI Acting Assistant Director Valerie Parlave.

Thirty-one defendants were arrested today in Michigan and Alabama and five defendants were previously in custody. More than 60 firearms and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition were seized during this investigation. In addition, eight methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories were dismantled during the investigation.

The indictment alleges that the 41 Devils Diciples members and associates, including Smith and Darrah, participated in various criminal acts, including violent crimes in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking, illegal firearms offenses, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling and other federal offenses. Eighteen of the defendants, including Smith and Darrah, are charged with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by conducting their illegal enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity which included murder, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice and other federal and state offenses.

“For years, according to the indictment, the Devils Diciples have spread fear in cities throughout Michigan and around the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “This violent criminal enterprise allegedly profits from drug trafficking and illegal gambling, and uses intimidation and violence to silence its adversaries and maintain control over its members. Today’s arrests of the Devils Diciples’ top leaders and 39 of the gang’s members and associates are an important step in our efforts to dismantle violent criminal enterprises across the country.”

“Removing violent criminal organizations from our community is essential to attaining the quality of life we expect and deserve,” said U.S. Attorney McQuade. “Federal law enforcement is using all legal tools available to prosecute violent criminal enterprises like this one.”

“Today’s law enforcement action takes violence off the streets,” said FBI Acting Assistant Director Valerie Parlave. “The FBI appreciates the strong law enforcement partnerships leading to this activity and will continue its commitment to state and local communities to address this violent, and often brutal, criminal threat across the U.S.”

According to the indictment, the Devils Diciples is a criminal enterprise with its national headquarters in Clinton Township, Mich. The Devils Diciples operates regional chapters located in cities throughout Michigan, Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere. The Devils Diciples engage in criminal activities for financial gain, including distribution of narcotics, theft, transportation and sale of stolen motorcycles, conducting illegal gambling businesses, robbery, extortion and acts of violence.

According to the indictment, membership in the Devils Diciples is based in part on successfully completing a probationary period, followed by formal approval by one or more members or leaders. Members are required to own Harley Davidson motorcycles and are commonly referred to as “full patched members.” Full patched members are identified by a club name or nickname for the express purpose of concealing their identity and thwarting identification by law enforcement. Members are required to follow orders from leadership, including orders to assault or use threats and intimidation against others, to transport or distribute drugs, to lie to law enforcement or to hide or destroy evidence. Members are also required to follow the Devils Diciples by-laws and attend regular meetings referred to as “church.”

The indictment alleges that the Devils Diciples committed acts involving attempted murder, robbery, extortion, assault and threats of violence to maintain the territory of the organization and to protect the organization and its members from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities.

The indictment charges the 41 Devils Diciples members and associates with a variety of criminal offenses including violent crimes in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking, illegal firearms offenses, obstruction of justice and other federal offenses.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that in August 2003, Vincent John Witort and multiple other Devils Diciples members robbed, kidnapped and attempted to murder other members of the Arizona Chapter for violating Devils Diciples rules.

The indictment alleges that in 2004, Smith possessed state and federal law enforcement manuals regarding outlaw motorcycle gangs marked “For Official Use Only” and “Law Enforcement Sensitive” and numerous documents related to criminal matters involving members of the Devils Diciples, including police reports, search warrants, affidavits, indictments and witness interview transcripts.

Smith allegedly assaulted another individual in August 2008, for the purpose of maintaining and increasing position in the Devils Diciples enterprise. The indictment also alleges that in late 2008, Smith, Paul Anthony Darrah and Cary Dale Vandiver assaulted Scott Thomas Perkins with a metal pipe.

According to the indictment, in February 2009, Ronald Raymond Roberts, Christopher Raymond Cook and Wayne Russell Werth allegedly assaulted Danny Russell Burby Jr. with a box cutter and a bottle, after various Devils Diciples members circulated flyers containing a photograph of Burby and stating that Burby was a “snitch.”

The indictment also alleges that in January 2012, David Randy Drozdowski and Smiley Villa assaulted an individual they believed was a member of a rival motorcycle club for being present in Devils Diciples territory.

Sixteen of the members and associates named in the indictment are charged with conspiracy to conduct an illegal gambling business. The defendants operated slot machines located in several Devils Diciples clubhouses in Michigan, Arizona and Alabama to generate income for the criminal enterprise and its members.

The 41 defendants charged are:

1. Scott William Sutherland, aka “Scotty Z”
2. Ronald Raymond Roberts, aka “Rockin’ Ronnie”
3. David Thomas Roberts, aka “Detroit Dave”
4. Patrick Michael McKeoun, aka “Magoo”
5. Jeff Garvin Smith, aka “Fat Dog”
6. Paul Anthony Darrah, aka “Pauli”
7. Cary Dale Vandiver, aka “Gun Control”
8. Vincent John Witort, aka “Holiday”
9. Michael William Mastromatteo, aka “Iron Mike”
10. Vernon Nelson Rich, aka “Vern”
11. John Renny Riede, aka “Bear”
12. Victor Carlos Castano
13. Gary Lee Nelson
14. Michael Kenneth Rich, aka “Tatu”
15. Raymond Charles Melioli, aka “Romeo”
16. Timothy Paul Downs, aka “Space”
17. David Randy Drozdowski, aka “D”
18. Smiley Villa, aka “SA”
19. Dean Edward Jakiel, aka “Jesus”
20. Tony Wayne Kitchens, aka “Trouble”
21. Sylvester Gerard Wesaw, aka “Sly Dog”
22. Ronald Nick Preletz, aka “Polar Bear”
23. Howard Joseph Quant, aka “44”
24. Scott Thomas Perkins, aka “Scotty P”
25. Clifford Chansel Rhodes, II
26. David Roy Delong, aka “Reverend”
27. Christopher Raymond Cook, aka “Damien”
28. Michael John Palazzola, aka “Utica Mike”
29. Danny Russell Burby, Jr., aka “Thumbs”
30. Ronald Leon Lambert, aka “Crow”
31. Jason Joseph Cook, aka “Cookie”
32. Edward Allen Taylor, aka “Big Ed”
33. Salvatore Battaglia, aka Bando”
34. William Scott Lonsby, aka “Buckwheat”
35. Wayne Russell Werth
36. Lauri Ann Ledford
37. Jennifer Lee Cicola
38. Dean Anthony Tagliavia
39. Alexis Catherine May
40. Paula Mileha Friscioni
41. John Charles Scudder

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Michigan State Police, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, and the County of Macomb Enforcement Team (COMET), with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by the Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

12-875 Criminal Division
USDOJ: National President, National Vice President and 39 Members and Associates of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Gang Indicted

$12 Million in Cocaine Seized at Pharr-Reynosa Bridge




Posted: Jul 13, 2012 12:27 PM Updated: Jul 13, 2012 12:28 PM


PHARR - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge on Thursday confiscated a load of cocaine valued at more than $12 million.


Officials said the drugs were hidden in a flatbed trailer pulled by a Kenworth tractor. The drugs were discovered during a secondary inspection. Officers found 150 packages totaling 392.2 pounds of cocaine.

$12 Million in Cocaine Seized at Pharr-Reynosa Bridge | KRGV.com | CHANNEL 5 NEWS | Breaking News Breaking Stories

3 Police, 1 civilian killed in attack in northern Mexico

Published July 13, 2012
EFE

Three members of an elite state police force and a civilian were killed and another officer was seriously wounded in an attack by suspected drug cartel hit men on a police vehicle in this northern Mexican city.

The security spokesman in Coahuila state, Sergio Sisbeles, told Efe the incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. Thursday when the four state law-enforcement officers were on patrol.

He said the attack was an act of revenge by organized crime elements after two suspected cartel enforcers were arrested Wednesday in possession of high-caliber weapons and turned over to federal prosecutors.

One unidentified male passerby was also killed in the attack.
Members of the Coahuila state Attorney General's Office who arrived at the scene to investigate confirmed the deaths of the three police and the civilian.

Comarca Lagunera, a metropolitan area straddling parts of the northern states of Durango and Coahuila where the attack occurred, has seen an uptick in violence in recent years stemming from a turf war between the Sinaloa and Los Zetas cartels, Mexico's two most powerful drug mobs.

Organized criminals have carried out massacres, shootings at bars and even bomb attacks on media outlets in that metro area.

Security has been bolstered in the Comarca Lagunera in recent days with more army soldiers and federal police arriving to support the efforts of the Creditable State Police, a recently created elite state law-enforcement agency.

Conflict among rival cartels and between criminals and the security forces has claimed more than 50,000 lives in Mexico since December 2006, when newly inaugurated President Felipe Calderon - whose term ends in December - militarized the struggle against drug trafficking.
EFE

3 Police, 1 civilian killed in attack in northern Mexico | Fox News Latino

$3.4M in cocaine seized at JaxPort

Published On: Jul 12 2012 11:43:12 AM EDT Updated On: Jul 12 2012 02:43:57 PM EDT


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - About 235 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $3.47 million was seized from the Port of Jacksonville last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Thursday.

While inspecting maritime cargo containers at the port, customs agents identified a suspect container that they said showed signs of tampering. The agents said they examined the contents of the container and found 100 bricks of cocaine.

The drugs were packaged inside four black duffel bags located on top of the cargo, agents said. They said a canine officer also alerted them to the presence of drugs.

One of the bricks was tested by officers and the substance tested positive for cocaine.

The case is still under investigation and no arrests have been made at this time, investigators said.

They said the container arrived in Jacksonville aboard a freighter from Panama and originated in Chile.

Agents said they had to keep the drug bust under wraps for a month as they followed leads to learn who tried to smuggle it in.

Douglas Straatsma, of Customs and Border Protection, said agents are always looking for drugs and other illegal contraband at JaxPort, a place where hundreds of thousands of shipping containers come and go each year. From time to time, they make busts, but rarely like this one, he said.

"We knew that this was occuring in other ports," Straatsma said. "We were following their lead on this, and we were just looking at these ships that follow these itineraries, knowing that the potential was there."

$3.4M in cocaine seized at JaxPort | News - Home

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f12/u-s-mexico-...ns-pot-260953/

FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending July 13, 2012 Washington, D.C. July 13, 2012 FBI National Press Office (202) 324-3691 1. Phoenix: Five Charged in Connection with Death of a Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Agent; $1 Million FBI Reward Announced Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, and Lionel Portillo-Meza were charged with crimes related to the death of agent Brian Terry, including first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Full Story 2. Boston: Man Admits Plotting Attack on Pentagon and U.S. Capitol and Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorists Rezwan Ferdaus agreed to plead guilty to charges of attempting to damage and destroy the federal buildings using large, remote controlled aircraft filled with C-4 plastic explosives and to attempting to support al Qaeda. Full Story 3. Birmingham: Uzbek National Sentenced for Threatening to Kill the President and Providing Material Support to Terrorism Ulugbek Kodirov was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison for providing material support to terrorism, threatening to kill President Barack Obama, and illegally possessing a weapon. Full Story 4. Washington: D.C. Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Violate Campaign Laws and to Obstruct Justice in a Federal Investigation Eugenia C. Harris pled guilty to conspiring to disguise the source of campaign contributions in federal and local elections, including the 2010 D.C. mayoral campaign. Full Story 5. Norfolk: Executives, Borrowers Indicted in Massive Fraud That Led to Collapse of Bank of the Commonwealth Top executives and favored borrowers are accused of masking non-performing assets at the Bank of the Commonwealth for their own personal benefit and to the detriment of the bank in a long-running scheme that allegedly contributed to the failure of the bank in 2011. Full Story 6. Dallas: Men Indicted in $485 Million Investment Fraud Scheme Brendan Coughlin and Henry Harrison were indicted in connection with a $485 million oil and gas scheme that involved 7,700 investors throughout the United States. Full Story 7. Indianapolis: Largest Federal Organized Crime Prosecution in Indianapolis History Results in 42 Arrests More than 300 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers simultaneously converged on more than a dozen locations across the city to arrest members of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club. Full Story 8. Detroit: Over 40 Members and Associates of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Gang Indicted National President Jeff Garvin Smith and National Vice President Paul Anthony Darrah were indicted with 39 others for their alleged participation in a variety of criminal offenses. Full Story 9. Omaha: Chief Executive Officer of Peregrine Financial Group Charged with Making False Statements to Regulators Russell Wasendorf, Sr. allegedly made false statements to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding the value of customer segregated funds held by his company. Full Story 10. Washington: Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Official Sentenced for Taking Part in Fraud James M. Woosley, the former Acting Director of Intelligence for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for defrauding the government in a scheme involving fraudulent travel vouchers and time and attendance claims. Full Story

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U.S. Department of Justice
FBI — FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending July 13, 2012