News Releases and Statements

Officials removed 110 packages from the vehicle with a total combined weight of 72.05 kilograms (158.8 pounds). The packages contained blue pills with “M30” markings, and the initial investigation determined the pills contained fentanyl.

HSI International Operations Assistant Director David J. Magdycz, and Haiti Minister of Justice Emmelie Prophete-Milcé, signed a memorandum of cooperation at HSI headquarters in Washington D.C., Feb. 13, to formally establish the Haiti Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit.

Dinero Devon Washington, 46, of Phoenix, further pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport noncitizens on Sept. 7, 2023.

Each year, HSI Kansas City presents the partnership award to a group that fosters and facilitates cooperation between agencies.

Josue Adan Lemus-Lara aka Fenix, 39, of Esquipulas, Guatemala, was convicted on all charges in a maritime cocaine trafficking conspiracy following a weeklong jury trial in November 2023.  

Carl Stephen Smith Jr., 33, of Green Cove Springs, faces a minimum mandatory penalty of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison. Smith has remained in custody since his arrest on Jan. 31, 2023.

The DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking and the Blue Campaign provided updates on victim-centric policies and procedures to the Crime Victim Committee.

Chad Williams Wesevich, 40, and his brother Jamie Wesevich, 41, both residents of Corpus Christi, were sentenced Feb. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to serve 360, 240 and 60 months, respectively, for conspiracy to manufacture and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, a Brewster County sheriff’s deputy stopped Ana Cristina Alarcon Rios, 24, of Chihuahua, for speeding along Highway 90 in Alpine.

Fredi Zagala-Servin, 40, of Kaufman, was sentenced Feb. 7 to 97 months in prison for being a longtime leader and organizer of a human smuggling organization that smuggled hundreds of undocumented noncitizens from Laredo to San Antonio inside semitractor-trailers.

According to court documents, Armando Leonardo Moreno aka Cholo, conspired with other TCO members on or around Sept. 13, 2021, to kidnap a subject from an El Paso stash house.

According to UNICEF, more than 200 million individuals alive today have undergone FGM/C, which refers to procedures that injure the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

ICE Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Patrick J. Lechleitner, met with Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares, at the Washington D.C.-based DHS CCHT today.

According to court documents, Gregory Massey, 30, and his girlfriend and co-defendant Patricia Hart, forced two adult victims to engage in commercial sex in different locations during 2021 and 2022.

David Pasillas Martinez, 52, of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, will remain in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled.

ERO Philadelphia removed Rakin Islam Chowdhury, a citizen of Bangladesh with a final order of removal, to Bangladesh on Jan. 17. Chowdhury was previously convicted of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

David Fehr Wiebe, of Janos, Chihuahua, Mexico, will remain in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled.

According to court documents, Harold Lee McMullen possessed more than 400 images depicting the sexual abuse of children. Authorities obtained a search warrant after discovering that his computer’s IP address exchanged child sexual abuse material over BitTorrent. McMullen was arrested Aug. 15, 2023, and pleaded guilty Sept. 14, 2023.

Vernelle E. Hines, 30, a resident of Houston, Texas, was charged with interfering with commerce by robbery and carrying and using a firearm during a crime of violence.

Roberto Tovar, 47, of Del Rio, was sentenced Jan. 29 to 168 months in federal prison. His co-defendant, Melissa Villarreal, 36, of Del Rio, was sentenced to 135 months in prison. Tovar pleaded guilty June 24, 2021, and Villarreal pleaded guilty March 28, 2022.

Nathanael Alley Rivera, 23, of Eloy, pleaded guilty on Sept. 6, 2023, to conspiracy charges related to his supervisory role in transporting hundreds of undocumented noncitizens for financial gain. During the first months of the conspiracy, Rivera was on probation for a previous human smuggling conviction.

The Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force, led by HSI, arrested Elvin Jhohanie Molina-Rosado, a 35-year-old man from Corozal.

Dwayne Henry, 32, and Wayne Henry, 34, both of Landover Hills, allegedly engaged in a lottery scheme that tricked victims into believing they won a lottery or sweepstakes and were required to send advance payment for taxes and other fees before they were entitled to receive their winnings.

HSI began investigating Victor Francisco Mendez, 35, of Douglas, in June 2023, when the Douglas Police Department received information from the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The judge ordered Jesus Hector Lagarda-Gil, 45, of Mexico, to forfeit a 2018 Mazda CX5 automobile and $148,000 in U.S. currency. Lagarda-Gil pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on Sept. 21, 2023.