News Releases and Statements

Two individuals from Singapore have been extradited to stand trial in the District of Columbia in connection with an alleged fraud conspiracy involving the unlawful export of 55 military antennas from the United States to Singapore and Hong Kong.

Following an 11-day trial, the jury deliberated for two-and-a-half days before reaching their verdicts.

The nationwide search for a "Jane Doe" suspected child pornographer by ICE's HSI ended with the arrest of an Okaloosa County, Fla., woman, Corine Danielle Motley, on federal charges for child pornography production.

ICE continues to make progress with regard to other categories prioritized for removal.

He is expected to be deported after he serves his prison sentence.

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced Thursday that it seized 89 website domain names that were illegally selling counterfeit merchandise to unsuspecting consumers as part of Project Cyber Monday.

Following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Rafael Polonia of Hazleton, Pa., was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for receiving and distributing child pornography.

Eight men were indicted on federal child pornography offenses following a joint investigative effort known as "Operation Blue Monday."

Orlando Escobar-Leon, a Guatemalan national with dual citizenship in Mexico, was removed from the United States Wednesday by officers with ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO). Escobar-Leon was a leader in a multinational alien smuggling network that was responsible for smuggling East African and Bangladeshi nationals from Colombia...

Shawn A. Bray, a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was sworn in today by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole to be the new director of Interpol Washington. Interpol Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau, is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice and is co-managed by DHS.

Keith Larson, 41, of Louisville, Colo., was arraigned Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Howard R. Lloyd on charges of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 12, and traveling with intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad hosted a delegation of nine American subject matter experts in the fields of federal law enforcement, justice and cultural heritage protection including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, from Dec. 17 to 20 at a training conference on "Countering Antiquities Trafficking."

An Arizona woman, Courtney Cal Gardenier, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to distribute ecstasy.

Robert L. Hedrick, 61, of Brownsville, Texas, appeared before U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen who handed down the 360-month prison sentence. Following is the breakdown of his prison sentences, which are all running concurrently:

As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, officers of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore arrested 34 convicted criminal aliens during a two-day enforcement operation on the Maryland Eastern Shore.

David Guzman-Urias aka El Directo, an El Salvadoran national wanted for aggravated homicide in his home country, was removed from the United States Tuesday and turned over to El Salvadoran law enforcement officials by officers from ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Ramin Bibian, a Los Angeles-area man who admitted operating two websites that sold counterfeit IDs, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to transferring false identification documents, following a probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the HSI-led multi-agency Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force.

Roger Bates, 57, of London, Ark., pleaded guilty to federal charges of production of child pornography Aug. 13. In addition to the 60-year prison term issued Tuesday, he was ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution. Bates is not eligible for parole.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment Tuesday charging two Dallas men with various drug and firearms offenses related to their conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. One of these men is also charged with possessing and distributing heroin that resulted in the drug-overdose deaths this summer of two young women.

ICE's HSI urgently needs the public's help to identify a suspected child pornography producer. The agency is seeking the arrest of an unidentified woman for producing child pornography and the rescue of a 4 to 5-year-old victim of sexual exploitation.

Six people were sentenced Tuesday following their convictions in an illegal alien harboring/transportation conspiracy after an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Adulfo De Aquino-Cancino, an illegal alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to engage in the sex trafficking of two minors. The guilty pleas resulted from an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Kentucky State Police.

Nine criminal aliens, two fugitives and six repeat immigration violators were arrested during a three-day operation in southeast Alabama that concluded Sunday, conducted by ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Jose Espinoza was sentenced Tuesday to 78 months in federal prison for attempting to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.

Daniel Aparicio-Lara, 29, a Mexican national formerly of Burlington, N.C., was sentenced today to 66 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder in the Middle District of North Carolina. In addition to his prison term, Aparicio-Lara was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $140,800 in proceeds. On Sept. 18, 2012, Aparicio-Lara pleaded guilty in front of Judge Schroeder to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.