Law enforcement veteran returns to California to lead HSI San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Monday announced the appointment of a longtime special agent previously based in Georgia to head the agency's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Francisco office.

Ryan L. Spradlin, 42, began his new assignment as San Francisco's special agent in charge (SAC) last week. He will oversee HSI offices in northern California and neighboring northern Nevada, including the agency's multiple San Francisco-area locations, and offices in Bakersfield, Fresno, Sacramento, San Jose, Stockton, Redding and Reno, Nevada.

Spradlin, whose father was a career investigator with the former U.S. Customs Service, has served in a variety of HSI leadership positions since 2009, including as the deputy special agent in charge for HSI Atlanta and as a regional intelligence director. While in Atlanta, Spradlin oversaw several significant investigations, including Operation Dark Night, a nationally recognized sex trafficking operation. He also led the effort to establish Border Enforcement Security Task Forces at several key ports across the South. HSI Atlanta has consistently been ranked as one of the most productive federal law enforcement offices in the country, and Spradlin has been recognized for playing a key role in those successes.

"From human exploitation crimes that victimize women and children to financial frauds involving intellectual property rights and trade-based money laundering, I look forward to working with our law enforcement partners to help keep our communities safe and thriving," Spradlin said. "As a second generation federal agent, I take my responsibility of leading the hard working men and women of HSI in this region very seriously and will work tirelessly to highlight the important work they do. It's important that our citizens are educated about HSI and what we do to protect them."

Spradlin is no stranger to California or the Bay Area. He graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in criminal justice administration and received his master's degree in education and multicultural counseling from San Diego State University. As the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, HSI special agents in northern California and Nevada are responsible for pursuing a wide range of criminal activity, including human trafficking, child pornography, money laundering, narcotics and weapons trafficking, financial crimes, commercial fraud, and violations relating to intellectual property rights. Visit this link on ICE's website for more background on HSI's far-reaching mission.