News Releases and Statements

Miguel Polanco, 31, of Union City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.

ERO San Francisco officers apprehended 19 unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of drug trafficking or possession offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin during a nationwide enforcement effort Jan. 23 through Feb. 6.

ERO Miami officers apprehended four unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of drug trafficking or possession offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin during a nationwide enforcement effort Jan. 23 through Feb. 6.

The court sentenced Angel Amed Gomez-Garcia, 43, to 108 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, Gomez-Garcia will likely face removal proceedings. Gomez-Garcia pleaded guilty Nov. 9.

ERO Los Angeles officers apprehended 16 unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of drug trafficking or possession offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin during a nationwide enforcement effort Jan. 23 through Feb. 6.

ERO Seattle officers apprehended three unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of drug trafficking or possession offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin during a nationwide enforcement effort Jan. 23 through Feb. 6.

ERO Salt Lake City officers apprehended six unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of drug trafficking or possession offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin during a nationwide enforcement effort Jan. 23 through Feb. 6.

A federal jury sitting in Laredo deliberated for less than two hours before convicting Ana Maria Pena Gutierrez, 53, of Houston, on two charges following a two-day trial.

ICE ERO officers apprehended 67 unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of drug trafficking or possession offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin during a nation-wide enforcement effort Jan. 23 through Feb. 6.

An indictment was unsealed Feb. 8 charging Carlos Algredo Vazquez, 57, and Francisco Pulido Coracero, 65, both of Michoacan, Mexico, with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine for importation into the United States and conspiracy to distribute listed chemicals for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine for importation into the United States.

According to public documents, officials identified William Estuardo Lemus-Lara, aka Humilde, 51, as the leader of a transcontinental criminal organization that moved tons of cocaine from South America via maritime smuggling routes to conspirators in northwest Guatemala and Mexico. Conspirators then smuggled the drugs into the United States.

The sentence stems from Brandon Goodsell’s convictions of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Paublo Rueben, a 41-year-old resident of Pharr, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 20 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to sell narcotics to undercover law enforcement officials. Ruben pleaded guilty to the charges July 27, 2022.

Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and U.S. Attorney Steven Russell announced that on Jan. 27, a federal jury in the District of Nebraska found Omaha resident Gilberto Aguilar-Beltran, 46, guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Hector Ruiz, 30, received the four-and-a-half-year sentence Jan. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for his part in a multistate drug trafficking conspiracy with ties to a Mexican drug cartel.

Reyna, Coleman and Martinez are documented La Quarenta gang members.

Kailey Olson, 30, of Sioux City pleaded guilty Jan. 12 in federal court to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Idalia Guzman, a 47-year-old resident of Pharr, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to eight years in prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

Tony “Klownman” Torres, a 53-year-old resident of Harlingen, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 10 years in prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Torres pleaded guilty to the charges Nov. 8.

Ascencion Garza Jr., a 63-year-old resident of Hebbronville, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to possession with intent to distribute approximately 16 kilograms of cocaine.

Luis Carlos Rodriguez Elizondo, 23, from Monterrey, Mexico, plead guilty Jan. 4 to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than 13 pounds of cocaine.

A federal grand jury in Tucson, Arizona, returned a 19-count indictment on Nov. 10, 2022, against 10 current or former southern Arizona residents following a multi-agency investigation which includes HSI, Arizona DPS, ATF, DEA, USMS, and the USPS OIG.

Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Joshua Armstrong and United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Tammie J. Young, 53, of Kearney, Nebraska, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Lincoln.

Alphonso L. Battle, 55, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin from Sept. 1, 2012, to April 3, 2017.

Roger Lee Martinez, a 40-year-old Three Rivers, Texas resident, was sentenced in the Southern District of Texas to 10 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Martinez had waived his right to appeal.