ICE returns fugitive wanted for embezzling conspiracy in Nicaragua
MIAMI — A Nicaraguan man accused of participating in a criminal conspiracy involving the embezzlement of funds in his native country was escorted out of the United States Wednesday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Gabriel Collado-Rodriguez, 40, was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice when he was arrested June 2 as part of a nationwide roundup of foreign fugitives residing in the United States by ERO and the U.S. Marshals Service. He was turned over to Nicaraguan authorities upon his arrival on an ICE Air Operations flight Wednesday afternoon.
According to federal prosecutors in Nicaragua, Collado allegedly participated in an elaborate scheme involving multiple accounts and forged checks that resulted in a loss of more than $100,000 from Bancentro. Authorities believe he had been living in the Miami area since 2005; an immigration judge in Miami ordered his removal from the U.S. in absentia in September 2007.
“Identifying and arresting this fugitive, who was attempting to live here under the radar, is a credit to the professionalism of my officers and the U.S. Marshals,” said Marc J. Moore, field office director for ERO Miami. “Less than a month later, Mr. Collado has been returned to Nicaragua to be held accountable for the crimes he is accused of committing. ERO will not allow the United States to provide a safe harbor for foreign fugitives.”
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 930 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder.
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