News Releases and Statements

Oscar Efrain Zavala-Urrea, 23, a Salvadoran national residing in Silver Spring, received the 25-year prison sentence March 19 for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy that included a murder related to his activities as part of the notorious MS-13 street gang.

Ronald Jenkins, 42, of Franklin, Virginia, Japree Brooks, 40, of Murfreesboro, North Carolina and Malik Newsome, 30, of Ivor, Virginia, were convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and witness tampering at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Ghacham Inc., based in Paramount and doing business under the brand name Platini, was given financial penalties and ordered to create and maintain an anti-money laundering compliance and ethics program with a third-party monitor review, who will report to the court annually.

Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested a Honduran noncitizen and member of MS-13 Dec. 12 in Hyattsville, Maryland, who was convicted of killing a Maryland resident in 2016.

HSI Baton Rouge and local law enforcement agencies announced the start of Operation Sleigh Ride, an HSI-led law enforcement operation targeting organized retail crime at major shopping centers in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area Nov. 22. 

Yasser Saleh Ouwad, a 52-year-old resident of Houston, was sentenced Nov. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 41 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to transport stolen merchandise.

Both Campos and Argueta-Chica are members of the Weedams Locos Salvatrucha (WLS) clique of the MS-13 gang, which operated primarily in Adelphi, Maryland.

Deportation officers from ERO San Antonio and ERO Harlingen removed Oscar Arturo Arriola Marquez, 54, from the United States to Mexico on Nov. 1.

The suspects, Juan Camilo Valoyes, a.k.a “el cabe,”; Wilmer Flores, a.k.a. “chatarra”; and David Junior Peréz, a.k.a. “el junior,” face various charges. The charges include, aggravated homicide; manufacture, trafficking or illegal transport of firearms; qualified and aggravated robbery, and receipt of stolen property.

Gustavo Ivan Hernandez-Cabral, 24, who had a final order of removal, was turned over to Mexican authorities at the international boundary in downtown El Paso.

Bryan Alexander Torres, 29, of Adelphi, received the sentence at the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on Sept. 13 for the conspiracy related to his participation in the Weedams Locos Salvatrucha clique of the MS-13 street gang.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 33, of Culiacan, Mexico, was arraigned in federal court in Chicago Sept. 18 after his extradition from Mexico to the United States on Sept. 15. In January, Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico pursuant to a request from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and partner agencies for his provisional arrest with a view toward extradition.

Jose Gimenez-Lobos, 32, received the lengthy prison sentence at the U.S. District Court in Richmond on July 24.

The alliance provides a multifaceted approach to disrupting and dismantling organized theft groups through partnerships, investigations and consumer awareness. Organized theft groups are sophisticated criminal organizations that profit from illegally obtaining goods that are later sold for economic gain, such as through cargo theft, organized retail crime, and other theft- and fraud-related criminal activities.

A joint investigation involving HSI Baltimore landed a Salvadoran national 26 years in federal prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy that included murder, drug distribution and firearms charges. Jose Lopez-Rivera, 27, of Elmont, New York, received the lengthy prison sentence May 31 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore.

Roberto Cruz-Moreno, 23, of Woodbridge; Marvin Torres, 22, of Manassas; Kevin Perez-Sandoval, 25, of Warrenton; and Jose Rosales-Juarez, 32, of Manassas, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 20 years for drug distribution, racketeering, and their roles in two attempted murders in Prince William County in 2019.

On May 19, a judge in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt sentenced Franklyn Edgardo Sanchez, 26, of Adelphi, to 28 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Sanchez must also pay restitution in the full amount of all the victims’ losses, including funeral costs incurred by the two murder victims’ estates.

Dubbed the matriarch of her narcotics trafficking and distribution empire, Erlinda Ramos-Bobadilla, 62, received the lengthy prison sentence March 28 for her role in the network, which included procuring, planning and arranging acts of violence, including murders, in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Over the weekend of April 1, Jorge Ivan Gastelum Avila, 42, of Mexico, aka Cholo Ivan, was extradited to the United States and made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia yesterday to face international drug trafficking and firearms charges.

The investigation alleges that the defendants intentionally conspired to conduct and participate, directly and indirectly, in the enterprise’s conduct through a pattern of racketeering activity consisting of multiple murders, kidnappings and other crimes.

Luis Flores-Reyes, 42, of Arlington, Virginia, received his sentence Feb. 22 and Jairo Jacome, 40, of Langley Park, Maryland, received his sentence Feb. 23.

The four men arrested in Florida today are Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, 50, a Colombian national and U.S. permanent resident of Miami; Antonio Intriago 59, a Venezuelan American of Miami; Walter Veintemilla, 54, of Weston; and Frederick Bergmann, 64, of Tampa.

The investigation revealed that Bryan Contreras-Avalos aka “Anonimo,” “Humilde” and “Malia,” is a member of the notorious street gang known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and participated in at least three murders.

HSI’s TCIUs assist with furthering its global mission, working with foreign partners to investigate and prosecute people involved in transnational criminal activities that threaten the region’s stability and national security and who pose continuing threats to the United States. TCIUs identify targets, collect evidence, share intelligence, and facilitate prosecution in the United States and foreign countries.

Three Missouri men have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a scheme to transport tens of thousands of stolen catalytic converters across state lines as part of a multimillion-dollar business following an HSI and law enforcement partner investigation.