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May 16, 2023Boston, MA, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ERO Boston arrests convicted drug trafficker wanted in Portugal

ERO Boston arrested a Portuguese national who was convicted and sentenced to prison for drug trafficking in Portugal on May 11.

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a Portuguese national who was convicted and sentenced to prison for drug trafficking in Portugal on May 11.

“ERO Boston is deeply committed to helping keep our communities safe, which is a key part of our mission and our work,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “The ERO Boston team of officers will continue to apprehend and remove people who are a threat to public safety and who have been convicted of crimes in their home country.”

The man entered the United States in 2008 under the Visa Waiver Program but did not comply with its terms, remaining in the country for more than 15 years. The fugitive foreign citizen, who was convicted and sentenced to more than four years in prison for drug trafficking in the Azores region of Portugal, was arrested and taken into custody by ERO Boston Fugitive Operations Team officers in Fairhaven without incident. He remains in ERO Boston custody. ERO will seek his removal from the United States.

In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.

As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

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