Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080429escobares.htm
April 29, 2008
ICE agents seize more than 7,000 pounds of marijuana from south Texas home
The drug have an estimated street value of $5.6 million
ESCOBARES, Texas - Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) early Tuesday morning discovered more than 7,000 pounds of marijuana at a residence here which is just east of Roma; the local street value for the marijuana seized is estimated at $5.6 million.
ICE executed a warrant and discovered 600 bundles of marijuana inside the residence. Two Mexican men were arrested in connection with this case; they will be formally charged Wednesday. Both men face federal charges of possession with intent to distribute. ICE agents are part of the Starr County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force (HIDTA)
“ICE and our law enforcement partners along the border will not tolerate this brazen disregard for U.S. law,” said Jerry Robinette, special agent-in-charge of ICE’s Office of Investigations in San Antonio. “Our ICE agents and officers prevented millions of dollars of marijuana from being distributed throughout our communities.”
The HIDTA Starr County Task Force includes members from the Starr County District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol, the Rio Grande Police Department, and agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
This is an ongoing investigation.
— ICE —
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080425baltimore1.htm
April 25, 2008
Honduran sentenced to 3 years for stealing government checks from the mail
BALTIMORE - A 41-year-old Honduran man was sentenced today to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for receiving stolen property and aggravated identity theft following an extensive investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The ICE investigation revealed that Juan Antonio Avila and his associates followed postal carriers on their routes, broke into mailboxes and stole U.S. Treasury checks and other government-issued checks. The checks were payment of tax returns and government benefits payments. In April 2006, Avila cashed a stolen check at a liquor store in Prince Frederick, Md., using fraudulent identification. ICE investigators also seized identification-making equipment at a residence at which Avila was staying.
U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. determined that at least $70,000 in losses was attributed to Avila.
Others involved in the scheme pleaded guilty and were recently sentenced for receiving stolen property, aggravated identity theft and illegal reentry into the United States.
Jose Matires Carranza-Gonzales, 27, also pleaded guilty on March 26, 2008. He faces a maximum sentence for receipt of stolen property of 10 years in prison, and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, when he is sentenced on June 13, 2008.
Twenty-two year-old Elmin Uliser-Reyes pleaded guilty to his participation in the scheme and was sentenced on April 3, 2008, to three years in prison for receiving stolen property, aggravated identity theft and illegal reentry into the United States. He will be deported after serving his sentence.
ICE agents received assistance from numerous federal and state agencies including the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and Howard County Sheriff’s Office.
— ICE —