Attempted murder suspect captured by ICE, turned over to Mexican authorities

NOGALES, Ariz. – A Mexican national wanted in his native country for allegedly kidnapping a Mexican citizen and attempting to murder a Mexican police officer was turned over to Mexican law enforcement authorities late Thursday afternoon at the Dennis de Concini Port of Entry by special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jose Mario Islas-Andrade, 32, of Nogales, Mexico, is charged in two Mexican criminal arrest warrants for the 2008 kidnapping of Nogales, Mexico, resident Pedro Paez-Perez and the 2012 premeditated attempted murder of Sonora State Police Officer Raul Rubio-Flores. The attempted murder warrant states that Islas-Andrade shot Rubio-Flores multiple times at point-blank range in an attempt to kill him. The officer survived.

"The capture and return of this criminal fugitive to Mexico to face justice is a direct result of our close collaboration with our law enforcement counterparts in Mexico," said Matt Allen, special agent in charge of HSI Arizona. "Our special agents will continue to investigate and pursue those violent criminals who seek to use the United States as safe haven in order to evade justice in their native countries."

Islas-Andrade, who had been previously removed from the United States, was arrested Wednesday in Tucson after HSI special agents assigned to the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) received information on his location. Islas-Andrade was actively being sought by HSI Nogales special agents in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation. Law enforcement officers from the Tucson Police Department and the multi-agency Counter Narcotics Alliance assisted HSI in the arrest. HSI Nogales special agents reinstated Islas-Andrade's previous removal order and coordinated with their Mexican law enforcement counterparts for his transfer at the port.

In addition to HSI, the agencies on the Tucson BEST include U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Arizona Attorney General's Office, the Tucson Police Department, the Arizona National Guard and the Mexican Federal Police. Formed in 2006, the Tucson task force is the oldest of the three BEST teams now based in Arizona. The other Arizona BEST teams are located in Phoenix and Yuma.