News Releases and Statements

The indictment names owners Miguel Castro, 44, and Monica Castro, 43, both of Uniontown; and managers Cesar Castro, 28, of Akron; Aldo Castro,42, of Akron; Pedro Cervantes, 39, of Mexico; and Gustavo Torres, 45, of Kent.

According to court documents, from November 2009 through February 2012, the defendants ran one of the largest counterfeit goods smuggling and distribution conspiracies ever charged by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department (SCMPD) received a check for $244,875.01 Thursday from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta office.

In addition to his prison sentence, David Daniel Hicks Jr., 42, of Andalusia, Ala., must serve a lifetime term of supervised release and register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, between October and December 2012, Michael Alan Klevene, 62, uploaded numerous videos and images of child pornography to the Internet. On Jan. 24, Klevene emailed an undercover HSI special agent links to the child pornography.

The third and final defendant has been sentenced in a violent hostage case involving three Mexican men who held three smuggled aliens in a West Phoenix drop house while attempting to extort thousands of dollars from their family in Washington state.

A convicted alien smuggler from Mexico, Jose Guadalupe Reyna-Esparza, was sentenced Thursday to nine years imprisonment for smuggling illegal aliens and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl repeatedly.

Michelle Lee Freeman and Michael Serapis Freeman, a Salem couple arrested last year after a nationwide alert by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seeking an unknown "Jane Doe"" child pornographer, were sentenced this month to federal prison.

Marco Laquin Rogers was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison Thursday for human trafficking and child pornography charges after he traveled to Mississippi, had sex with a 4-year-old girl and videotaped the abuse.

A south Texas nurse practitioner, Celia Raquel Zuniga, was sentenced Thursday to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for trafficking marijuana.

During a forensic examination of seized computer equipment, special agents found a video of David Kevin Schultz directing a female minor and a young adult male to engage in various sexual acts in his Laurel home.

Julio Cesar Cardenas was sentenced Wednesday to four life sentences in federal prison for his involvement in leading a drug trafficking organization that had close ties to the Gulf Cartel and delivered drugs throughout 12 states.

Jose Gallegos, 47, was caught at the Sarita Border Patrol checkpoint Aug. 17 with a scantily clad 18-year-old female passenger.

On Feb. 24, HSI special agents received information that William Berrios-Cruz, a police officer with 33 years of service, had allegedly sexually assaulted a minor girl after slipping something into her drink.

In recognition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) 10 year anniversary in March 2013, we presented a series of stories, images and a timeline to highlight our accomplishments and give a broad look at our proud history, as well as to educate the American public about our agency.

Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan pleaded guilty Tuesday in New Haven federal court to conspiring to provide and providing material support, including funds, personnel and physical items, to the Chechen Mujahideen, the Taliban and associated terrorist groups.

Following the initial traffic stop, a canine alerted law enforcement to the presence of illegal drugs in the luggage compartment of the bus. Task force officers subsequently conducted a search of the bus and discovered large bundles of cash hidden in three suitcases.

Mikhnail DelRosario, aka Mickey, 28, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to 11 years in prison.

David Ray Camez, 22, of Phoenix, Ariz., was convicted of one count of participating in a racketeer-influenced corrupt organization and one count of conspiracy to participate in a racketeer-influenced corrupt organization. Camez, whose sentencing is set for April 10, 2014, faces up to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

John W. Vandermeer, a New Mexico man who had been convicted of child rape in Massachusetts in the 1980s, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for receiving child pornography.

HSI New York will coordinate the return of this stolen 2nd century B.C. Bharhut Stupa Yaksi pillar sculpture, valued at approximately $15 million, to India.

David Lloyd Beavers, 42, pleaded guilty in September to the child exploitation charge, following an undercover Internet probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jacob Aniceto Jose Villarreal used his cell phone to produce a video of a boy engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Travis Barr, 32, of New Braunfels, was sentenced Dec. 4 to 12 years in federal prison and further ordered to serve 20 years of supervised release after he completes his prison term; he must also register as a sex offender. Barr pleaded guilty June 10 to distributing child pornography.

Robin Michael Gattis, the 20-year-old son of Alaska state house member Lynn Gattis, admitted in an August plea agreement to illegally importing methylone and leading a drug conspiracy.