News Releases and Statements

Noe Gonzalez-Martinez aka Tocayo, 40, was convicted Dec. 15 on all counts as charged following a three-day trial. Gonzalez-Martinez was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, murder-for-hire conspiracy, murder for hire, conspiracy to kidnap, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking related crime, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

During the conspiracy, Ariel Pintado-Montalvo paid thousands of dollars in bribe payments to Antonio Silva-Rodriguez, Hector Vazquez-Barroso and Doris Bonilla-Valle, who each used their positions as Department of Treasury employees to approve fraudulent and non-fraudulent vehicle excise-tax declarations in exchange for bribe payments.

Emeterio Contreras Martinez, 37, a citizen of Mexico, was transported Dec. 13 from the Nye Detention Facility in Pahrump, Nevada, arriving the same day in San Diego, where he was driven to the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Upon arrival at the border, Silva was turned over to local authorities in Mexico.

Nathan Hernandez, 20, of Yuma, is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on March 25, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Michael T. Liburdi.

Pilar Angel Leon-Beltran, 44, of Sinaloa, Mexico, pleaded guilty to the charges on March 22. He admitted to being in violation of a condition of his supervised release from a previous federal conviction.

David Alejandro Bautista, 32, was sentenced by a federal judge Dec. 14 to 240 months in federal prison. The judge also ordered Bautista to pay $84,000 restitution and special assessments in the amounts of $100, $5,000 and $35,000. He must also forfeit his electronic devices.

Augusto Jean Carlo Castillo-Hernandez aka Metal aka Joker, 34, of Guatemala, was arrested on Aug. 31, 2021, in Guatemala and extradited to the United States in February 2022 along with two other people.

ERO Harlingen removed Juan Carlos Pena Escobar, 46, a citizen of El Salvador with a final order of removal, to El Salvador via an ICE Air Operations charter aircraft.

On Nov.29, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an 11-count indictment against Jorge Damian Roman-Figueroa, Luis Eduardo Roman-Flores, Manuel Jose Bernal, Joel Salazar-Ballesteros and Jesus Armando Gonzalez-Villela, citizens of Mexico, for conspiracy to transport aliens; conspiracy to launder monetary instruments; conspiracy to distribute marijuana, methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; distribution of marijuana, methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

ICE, working in coordination with DHS and CBP, facilitated removal flights, including single adults and family units to Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela from December 11 - 13.

Ezequiel Alanis Espitia, a 40-year-old citizen of Mexico, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 27 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release for money laundering and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Espitia pleaded guilty to the charges on May 17.

Sean Michael Kriss, a 40-year-old resident of Brazoria, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 30 years for the sexual exploitation of a child and 10 years in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material.

An unlawfully present Mexican man and previously convicted sexual predator pleaded guilty to illegal reentry in November 2023 and will serve a 42-month sentence in an Indiana Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.

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.

The 41-year-old Salvadoran unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location without being admitted or inspected by an immigration official. Local authorities arrested him in Everett in September 2021.

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.

Deportation officers removed Raul Herbert Manyari-Castellares from the United States to Peru Dec. 8. Peruvian authorities took custody of him upon his arrival.

Jose Omar Rodriguez, 34, departed Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana and arrived at San Salvador International Airport in El Salvador.

Ferosa Bluff, 52, was transferred to ERO custody from the Utah State Prison Nov. 28.

ICE, working in coordination with DHS and CBP, facilitated removal flights, including single adults and family units to Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, South Korea and Venezuela from December 4 – 8.

As alleged in court documents, Caro Quintero aka Pelo Chino and El Chino, conspired to import large quantities of cocaine from Mexico into the United States from 1994 to January 2022. Francisco Abraham Flores Ortiz aka Panchito and two now-deceased co-conspirators allegedly conspired to import large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the United States from January 2008 to January 2018. Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe aka Salgado and Musico allegedly conspired to import large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico into the United States from January 2009 to December 2015.

Chandler Britain Bradford, 34, of New Braunfels, is charged with one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States; one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms; one count of conspiracy to transfer firearms for use in a felony; four counts of aiding and abetting the smuggling of goods from the United States; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Consistent with ICE policy, ERO Philadelphia notified the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility via the Joint Intake Center.

ERO Baltimore apprehended an undocumented noncitizen who was previously removed from the United States following his conviction for fleeing the scene of a motor vehicle accident that caused a U.S. Marine’s death.

Daniel Luis Ibarra-Lopez, 25, was transported from Las Vegas, Nevada, to the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, California, via ground transportation. Upon arrival, he was turned over to the proper authorities in Mexico.