News Releases and Statements

Ghacham Inc., based in Paramount and doing business under the brand name Platini, was given financial penalties and ordered to create and maintain an anti-money laundering compliance and ethics program with a third-party monitor review, who will report to the court annually.

As alleged in court documents, Caro Quintero aka Pelo Chino and El Chino, conspired to import large quantities of cocaine from Mexico into the United States from 1994 to January 2022. Francisco Abraham Flores Ortiz aka Panchito and two now-deceased co-conspirators allegedly conspired to import large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the United States from January 2008 to January 2018. Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe aka Salgado and Musico allegedly conspired to import large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico into the United States from January 2009 to December 2015.

Chandler Britain Bradford, 34, of New Braunfels, is charged with one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States; one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms; one count of conspiracy to transfer firearms for use in a felony; four counts of aiding and abetting the smuggling of goods from the United States; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The items ranged from clothing and sneakers to electronics produced without authorization from U.S. trademark holders, as well as those that did not adhere to U.S. consumer safety standards.

Jesus Vega Perez, 22, of Casa Grande, was convicted by a federal jury on Jan. 19 of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and importation of methamphetamine.

The annual multijurisdictional operation, which concluded on Nov. 30, works to combat human trafficking through targeted enforcement using undercover officers to arrest potential traffickers and offering support to survivors. As a result of the multiday operation, 12 people were offered support services and two arrests were made.

Branden Lee Narvaiz, a 35-year-old resident of Freer, was sentenced Dec. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to five years in prison immediately followed by four years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.

The French national entered the United States in July 2014 as a visa waiver visitor authorized to stay until October 2014. However, he failed to depart the United States, violating the terms of admission for the visa waiver program.

Russia-affiliated individuals Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, Dmitry Budnik, Valerii LNU (last name unknown), and Nazar LNU were each charged with unlawfully detaining a U.S. national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Wilmer Rivera-Hernandez, a 33-year-old unlawfully present Honduran national, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 50 years in prison following his conviction on Aug. 24 for interstate travel with intent to engage in a sex act with a minor.

U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith announced Dec. 6 that District Court Chief Judge Robert A. Molloy sentenced Somalie Bruce, 37, to 120 months of incarceration for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to traffic firearms.  

William Dexter Lucas, 61, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

Omar Diego Lyra, a 34-year-old Corpus Christi resident, was sentenced Nov. 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 19 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography following an investigation by HSI Houston’s Corpus Christi office and the Victoria and Corpus Christi Police Departments.

Engilbert Ulan, 42, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles, was convicted of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for March 6, 2024.

The multi-jurisdictional operation targeted air, land and sea smuggling and trafficking corridors throughout the Carolinas that was initiated to disrupt the flow of deadly narcotics, illicit proceeds of crime and violent criminal organizations operating throughout the region.

An HSI Space Coast investigation led to the removal of Pedro Paulo Barrientos Nunez, a denaturalized U.S. citizen, to his home country of Chile on Nov. 30, 2023, by ICE's ERO Miami.

Orlando Andres Garcia, 24, of Mission, pleaded guilty to human smuggling resulting in death and conspiracy to harbor noncitizens within the United States on Feb. 3, and Nov. 29, 2022, respectively.

Edgar Aaron Hernandez pleaded guilty March 31. He admitted to requesting nude images from numerous child victims via a social media platform and engaged in this conduct while at work.

Carey Lee Sackmann, 62, of Severn, received the sentence Nov. 27 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt.

Jesus Ernesto Dessens-Romero, 27, of Agua Prieta, Mexico, is facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of his smuggling convictions and at least five years for bringing undocumented migrants into the country for profit.

According to court documents, Jose Julio Rodríguez-Cumba, directed a large-scale drug trafficking organization that imported and distributed multi-hundred-kilogram shipments of cocaine from South America to Puerto Rico and the continental United States.

Sinisa Djurdjic, 50, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was found guilty by a jury on May 19 after a nine-day trial.

James Bond, of Scottsdale, is a former MMA fighter known as “Underdog” who changed his name from Jaymes Christopher Schulte.

An HSI Norfolk investigation revealed that the Virginia-based tactical equipment company London Bridge Trading Company sold foreign-made goods marked as “Made in the USA.” Its customers included the U.S. government, which purchased the equipment for uniformed service members through the DLA.

Manuel Ignacio Ley Villa, 53, was convicted Nov. 28. According to court documents, on April 30, Villa approached the Hidalgo Port of Entry driving a maroon Chrysler Pacifica.