News Releases and Statements

According to the affidavit that accompanies the criminal complaint that charges Edison Jose Diaz-Carreras, 38, with sexual enticement of a minor, he attempted to entice and coerce a female minor who at the time of the initial communications was 13 years old.

Kenedy Agileo Pineda-Morales, 41, was arrested by authorities without incident April 13, in Saratoga Springs, New York. A preliminary investigation determined that Pineda-Morales was living under an assumed name in the area. Authorities confirmed his true identity using biometric information and photos.

Sergio Linyuntang Mendoza Bohon, 19, was arrested in February after he attempted to smuggle nearly 1,200 counterfeit oxycodone pills into the U.S. through the pedestrian lane at the Otay Mesa port of entry. During a secondary inspection and pat down, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers found the tablets along with a package containing several grams of white powder in Mendoza’s underwear.

Anthony Ramon Hall, aka Tony, 40, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced April 15 by U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan of the Northern District of Oklahoma, who also ordered Hall to serve five years of supervised release.

The contraband, 37 bales of cocaine with a weight of 993 kilograms, was intercepted approximately 95 nautical miles south of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Kenneth O’Neal Batten, 37, of Claremore, Oklahoma, was charged Sept. 8, 2015; he pleaded guilty Jan. 12, 2016.

Luis Rivera, 19, of Irving, Texas, pleaded guilty in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children. Last month, Rivera’s co-defendant, Brady Rodriguez-Cruz, aka Marcos Antonio Rodriguez-Mejia, 33, also of Irving, was sentenced by Judge Boyle to 293 months in federal prison.

Joel Wright, 23, of Columbus, Ohio, admitted he placed ads on a Craigslist in November 2015 looking for a Mexico-based female tour guide.

Arturo Alcala-Mendez , 41, was repatriated on board an ICE Air flight that originated in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After arriving at the Port of Entry in Brownsville, Texas, ERO officers transferred Alcala-Mendez to the custody of Mexican law enforcement.

This seizure follows a joint international investigation led by HSI New York, and the Italian Cabanieri. The Italians traced the Nolan Amphora to a gallery in New York City. It is believed that the Nolan Amphora might have been in the United States illegally since as early as 1997.

According to the indictment, in December of 1998, when applying for immigration benefits, Mohammed Jabbateh, 49, aka “Jungel Jabbah” a citizen of Liberia, lied about his activities during Liberia’s first civil war while he was a member of The United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO) and later ULIMO-K, a rebel group that battled for control of Liberia. Jabbateh was allegedly a commander or higher ranking officer in ULIMO and ULIMO-K.

According to court documents, from July 2009 through September 2015, Robert Lohr, 72, of Bradenton, operated a business in Bradenton known as “Canadian American Drug Club” or “American Drug Club of Bradenton.”

Felipe Escobar-Martinez, 41, of Veracruz, Mexico, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in September during a targeted enforcement operation in New Iberia.

HSI special agents arrested Luis Melendez-Ramos, 21, and Byron Montijo-Maysonet, 29, following an investigation that stemmed from a referral by the PRPD Arecibo Sexual Crimes Division. The referral alleged that on or about Nov. 24, 2015, and Nov. 30, 2015, both men transported three female minors aged 13 and 14 to a local motel to engage in criminal sexual conduct.

The HSI San Juan Citizens Academy is the only HSI-sponsored citizens academy in the nation. In 2014, 10 citizens graduated from the program becoming the first citizens to ever graduate from an HSI citizens academy.

Troy Linehan Crutchfield, 26, of Costa Mesa, is suspected of taking and sending lewd videos of himself to a minor.

The individuals arrested throughout New Jersey were nationals of Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc. is the 18th San Diego-area employer to become an IMAGE member. IMAGE is a voluntary partnership that helps employers maintain a lawful workforce and reduce unauthorized employment and the use of fraudulent identity documents.

Tule Israel Alonso-Castañeda, 27, of Douglas, was sentenced Monday and ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release with stringent sex offender conditions, including the condition that he register as a sex offender.

What started as an unlikely alliance between law enforcement and the adult entertainment industry has since morphed into a successful program that directly reaches the people who may be among the first to see the shadowy, tell-tale signs of a sex trafficking victim – those working in adult entertainment clubs.

Gerardo Rafael Villasana-Serrano, aka Jerry Villasana, 46, a Mexican national, was arrested Friday by ERO Fugitive Operations Team officers. Villasana-Serrano was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor in 1991 in Lake County, Illinois.

The police department plans to use the nearly half-million dollars to purchase body cameras and additional surveillance equipment.

Guilty verdicts were returned April 8 against Rudy Alexander Martinez, 36, and Israel Arquimides Martinez, 44, following a two-week jury trial and about six hours of deliberation. Both were convicted of the conspiracy as well as employing illegal aliens, encouraging and inducing illegal aliens to reside in the United States, and conspiracy to do same, as well as aggravated identity theft.

Rafael Barcenas-Padilla, 50, had been hospitalized since March 16 when he was admitted for treatment of possible pneumonia. He was treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit where he received constant monitoring.