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http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/050711chicago.htm
News Release
July 11, 2005
ICE DEPORTS INTERNATIONAL ALIEN SMUGGLING RING MEMBER
CHICAGO - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today deported a 28-year-old Ecuadorian national who helped smuggle hundreds of illegal aliens into the United States using fraudulent U.S. passports.
Henry Bolivar Rendon-Arizaga, an illegal alien from Ecuador, was turned over to ICE June 19 upon his release from prison and remained in federal custody until this morning when he was deported to Quito, Ecuador.
Rendon-Arizaga was part of an organization that recruited U.S. citizens to apply for U.S. passports using photographs of illegal aliens from South America - mostly children from Ecuador - for fees of $12,000 to $14,000 each. Once the U.S. citizen agreed to assist in fraudulently obtaining the U.S. passport, they would be provided with a photo of an undocumented alien to submit with the passport application. The U.S. citizen would be paid $300 to $500 to turn the passport over to the alien smuggling organization. Smuggling organizers in New York then collected payment from the family members of the smuggled alien. Smuggling fees were paid and illicit proceeds were distributed between the conspirators via wire transfers and cash transactions.
Rendon-Arizaga pleaded guilty in January 2004 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to conspiracy to fraudulently obtain U.S. passports to smuggle South Americans into the U.S. for financial gain. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
Rendon-Arizagadez and his co-conspirators were the targets of a two-year joint investigation conducted by ICE, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Seven individuals have been sentenced in this case.
The investigation began Jan. 7, 2003 into an alien smuggling organization dedicated to illegally recruiting, transporting, harboring and smuggling hundreds of illegal aliens from Ecuador and South America into the United States.
"Alien smuggling poses a serious threat to our national security," said ICE Field Office Director Deborah Achim. "ICE has no tolerance for anyone making, selling, providing or using fraudulent documents to circumvent our nation's immigration laws." Achim oversees ICE Detention and Removal Operations in a six-state area that includes: Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri.
Chicago ICE deported more than 6,100 criminal and illegal aliens living in the agency's operational area in fiscal year 2004, a 28-percent increase from the previous year.
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http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/050712losangeles.htm
News Release
July 12, 2005
MAN KNOWN AS ‘PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE’ IN MEXICO CAPTURED IN LOS ANGELES
Notorious bank robbery suspect reportedly had plastic surgery to disguise appearance
LOS ANGELES – A former paratrooper in the Mexican military suspected in a string of violent bank robberies in Mexico City is back in his native country today following his capture by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Los Angeles yesterday, ending a nearly two decade international manhunt.
Arturo Montoya, alias Alfredo Rios Galeana, is featured on Mexico’s list of Most Wanted fugitives for his role in a series of bloody bank robberies that rocked Mexico City in the 70s and 80s. Montoya, who is being sought in Mexico on eight felony warrants - including charges of murder, kidnapping, and robbery - has been at large since his dramatic escape from a Mexican prison in 1986. Montoya fled after a team of eight armed commandos showed up at the federal penitentiary where he was being held and used a hand grenade to blast a hole in the wall of the prison.
The 51-year-old was taken into custody without incident on immigration violations at his residence in South Gate by members of ICE’s fugitive operations team Monday afternoon. ICE was assisted by investigators from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as well as investigators assigned to the Los Angeles Regional Fugitive Task Force, including Deputy United States Marshals and agents from the United States Secret Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Montoya’s arrest came after DMV investigators received a tip on the fugitive’s whereabouts in the Los Angeles area. According to DMV’s sources, Montoya had undergone cosmetic surgery to alter his appearance. ICE verified his identity through fingerprints.
“Our message to international fugitives is that our borders will not be barriers to bringing violent criminals to justice,” said Norma Bonales, acting deputy field office director for ICE detention and removal operations in Los Angeles. “ICE is working closely with our law enforcement partners locally and around the globe to identify these individuals and take them off the streets.”
United States Marshal Adam Torres praised the outstanding cooperation that led to Montoya’s arrest and vowed that the Marshals Service and its partner agencies in the Regional Fugitive Task Force are committed to making the Los Angeles area a safer place by tirelessly pursuing violent fugitives.
“No matter where you run, no matter how long you are wanted, keep looking over your shoulder, because we will be coming after you,” Torres said.
ICE coordinated closely with representatives from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office to finalize arrangements for Montoya’s removal. He was taken to the port of entry at San Ysidro early this afternoon where he was met by Mexican law enforcement officials.
The identification and removal of fugitives and criminal aliens is one of ICE’s top enforcement priorities. In the last ten months, ICE’s fugitive operations teams in Los Angeles have arrested at least 17 violent Mexican fugitives, including more than 12 who are facing murder charges in Mexico.
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