News Releases and Statements

The arrests, made from June 14 through June 18, were made in metropolitan Atlanta, in the Augusta area and in northwest Georgia. Of the 60 taken into custody by ERO, 17 met the agency’s highest priority level due to felony convictions or participation in a criminal street gang. An additional 43 arrestees met the second level of priorities for enforcement due to serious or multiple misdemeanor convictions.

Keith Monroe Wallace, 53, of Eureka, entered his plea in federal court. Wallace admitted he knowingly possessed 600 or more images of prepubescent minors or minors under 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The images included depictions of sadistic or masochistic conduct and other depictions of violence.

Tony Gustafson, 48, of Hastings, Nebraska, is also required to forfeit his computer, hard drives, a USB device, and 30 VHS tapes that were involved in the crime.

Representatives from U.S. and Chinese customs agencies strengthened relations Tuesday by signing an agreement to work together to combat violators of intellectual property rights law.

Noe Machado-Erazo, aka “Gallo,” 32, of Wheaton, Maryland, was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years. Jose Martinez-Amaya, 28, aka “Crimen,” of Brentwood, Maryland, was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years. Yester Ayala, 24, aka “Freeway” or “Daddy Yankee,” of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Adilson Pires Ribeiro and Wagner Gregorio De Souza were transferred into the custody of the Brazilian Federal Police once they arrived in Brazil the morning of June 17.

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending June 19, 2015

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified a potential vulnerability in which DMV employees exploit their positions by selling DMV-issued identification documents for financial gain.

Nicholas Todd, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 97 months in federal prison. He has been in custody since his arrest in late January 2014 by an HSI task force officer as Freed was attempting to claim a package containing anabolic steroids at the Deep Ellum Postal Center in Dallas.

Todd Christian Hartman, 32, of Newport Beach, formerly served as a youth counselor for the Vineyard Church in Anaheim.

Jilberto Salazar Perez, 38, was escorted to the Juarez Lincoln Port in Laredo, Texas, and turned over to Mexico’s Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) June 19.

HSI special agents arrested Israel Berrios-Berrios May 13, 2014, at his residence in Naranjito following an indictment that charged him with transporting a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity.

The enforcement initiative, dubbed Operation Team Player, resulted in the seizure of 4,376 items, including fake jerseys, hats, t-shirts, jackets and other souvenirs. The $181,215 value is based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the counterfeit NHL merchandise.

Santos Lemus Abarca, 29, departed Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana Friday morning, and ERO officers turned him over to authorities at El Salvador International Airport later that afternoon.

Navarrette-Quintana is the fifth detainee to pass away in ICE custody during fiscal year 2015.

Gordon Bowers, 51, was sentenced June 18 by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove to 13 years in prison for receiving child pornography. Under federal law, Bowers must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence. Following his release from prison he will remain under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 15 years.

This year’s class is made up of 22 veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and National Guard from all over America – Connecticut, California, from Vermont to Florida, from North Carolina to Colorado. Some served in Iraq, others in Afghanistan, as an infantryman or tanker, as military police or photojournalists, as mechanics, repairmen, or engineers.

Ronny Lee Waldrip, 64, of Douglasville, Georgia, pleaded guilty Nov. 7, 2014, to one count of sexually exploiting a minor outside the United States for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct.

Michael J. Hernandez, 25, from Orlando, and Jonell Philip Vega-Mercado, 19, from Clermont, were charged with conspiracy to import and possession with the intent to distribute Flakka, a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

Two suspects, Roberto Lemuz, 39, of Camden, New Jersey and Esteban Alcemon, 39, of New York City, were taken into custody and charged with third-degree promoting prostitution.

Nehemias Otoniel Machorro-Ceron aka Nelson Aroldo Machorro-Fajardo, 30, is a citizen of Guatemala who illegally entered the United States under a false name in February.

Operation Highline Crystal Highway joined more than a dozen law enforcement agencies in Montana and California, and resulted in seizing an estimated 13 pounds of meth, and also identified another estimated 50 pounds of meth involved in the drug conspiracy. Law enforcement also seized 25 guns as part of the operation.

The painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, called “Hannibal, or “The Basquiat” as well as a Roman Togatus statue, were returned to Brazil at a repatriation ceremony at the United States Attorney’s Office in New York City.

According to the terms of his plea agreement, Carlos Davenport, 41, will be sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

The arrests were made in the following six states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri. The 272 men and eight women arrested are from 22 countries.