Friday Five

week of Mar. 17, 2023

Check out our weekly recap of top news from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement highlighting the work of Enforcement Removal and Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). For more news from ICE, visit our newsroom.

“Fugitives who attempt to evade their home country’s judicial system will not find refuge in Minnesota,” said ERO St. Paul Field Office Director Peter Berg. “ERO St. Paul will continue to collaborate with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue dangerous individuals and organizations, especially those wanted for egregious crimes such as homicide.”

ERO St. Paul removes foreign fugitive wanted in Guatemala for homicide

Enforcement and Removal Operations St. Paul removed an unlawfully present noncitizen foreign fugitive wanted in Guatemala for homicide. 🔗Keep reading

Together, with our international partners at HSI The Hague, we are firmly committed to identifying and investigating cybercriminals who pose a serious threat to our economic security by laundering billions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency under the misguided anonymity of the darknet, said HSI Arizona Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown.

HSI Arizona investigation leads to takedown of cryptocurrency mixer that processed over $3 billion in unlawful transactions

Homeland Security Investigations and other law enforcement agencies participated in the coordinated, large-scale international takedown of ChipMixer, a darknet cryptocurrency "mixing" service. ChipMixer was responsible for laundering more than $3 billion in cryptocurrency between 2017 and the present involving ransomware, darknet marketplaces, fraud, cryptocurrency heists and other schemes. 🔗Keep reading

“Perpetrators of these type of crimes care very little about the havoc they cause to the victims involved, but ERO Boston and our partners do,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons.

ERO Boston removes convicted foreign fugitive wanted for fraud in Brazil

Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston removed an unlawfully present foreign fugitive from the United States convicted of fraud in Brazil. 🔗Keep reading

Coates admitted his involvement in a conspiracy that distributed at least 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine, including 150 grams of pure methamphetamine, from March 2021 through March 8, 2022.

HSI investigation leads to sentencing Iowa man to 15 years for meth conspiracy

A court convicted Dustin Coates, 36, of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamines, following a joint Homeland Security Investigations investigation. Coates was previously convicted of distribution of a controlled substance in the United States District Court for South Dakota in 2013. 🔗Keep reading

“Thanks to the collaborative professionalism between HSI, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, and the dedicated men and women of ERO Los Angeles, Gómez Osorio has been returned to his home country of Guatemala to face justice for violating human rights.” -- ERO Los Angeles Field Office Director Thomas Giles

ICE removes former Guatemalan police officer wanted for activist’s disappearance

Enforcement and Removal Operations Los Angeles removed a former Guatemalan police officer accused of participating in the widely publicized, forced disappearance of a student leader and union activist in 1984. 🔗Keep reading

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