News Releases and Statements

The event aimed to educate students, teachers, school administrators, and parents about the dangers of online child exploitation and abuse, and how they can protect themselves and their children from these ever-present online threats.

The multi-agency operation’s goal was to increase the safety of freight trains and their crews traveling through Charlotte, due to increased reporting of gang affiliated aliens on the rail tracks, threatening citizens and employees of the railway, selling narcotics, trespassing, and other criminal activity.

Among those arrested were members of violent international gangs, known for their involvement in drug trafficking, human smuggling, and violent crimes. Additionally, ICE took custody of convicted sex offenders who had unlawfully re-entered the United States, as well as individuals facing federal criminal charges for immigration and other violations.

The ICE HSI-led operation resulted in the discovery and positive identification of 36 victims and more than 380 investigative leads related to additional victims.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, and several other state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the operation.

ICE removed Fatbardh Lala, an Albanian national wanted in his home country on fraud and bribery charges, when he was turned over to Albanian authorities at the Tirana International Airport in Tirana, Albania, March 6.

ICE removed Jose Ramon Torres Cordova, a 47-year-old Mexican fugitive wanted in Hermosillo, Mexico, for kidnapping and criminal association, March 7.

Guatemalan officials extradited Moises Humberto Rivera-Luna, also known as Santos and Viejo Santos, 55, from Guatemala to the United States, March 4.

ICE arrested Dan Adrian Agafitei, 26, an illegally present Romanian national upon his release from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, March 4.

ICE arrested Axel Ramirez-Hernandez, a 32-year-old Guatemalan national with convictions for sexual assault of a victim less than 16 years old and illegal reentry after deportation, March 6 in Spring Valley with a criminal warrant of arrest for illegal reentry after deportation.

ICE removed foreign fugitive Torsten Ew Torz, 31, a native of Germany and citizen of Romania, March 6.

ICE removed Ariel Nunez Figueroa, a 30-year-old Mexican national, to Mexico March 6. Nunez was wanted in Mexico for kidnapping and organized crime for his alleged role in the murder of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Teachers' College in September 2014.

ICE removed Oscar Alexander Cruz Rodriguez, 29, an illegally present foreign fugitive wanted in El Salvador for rape of a minor, Feb. 14.

ICE arrested Brauly Aybar-Alcantara, a 25-year-old criminal alien from the Dominican Republic on charges of indecent assault and battery, assault and battery, and gross lewdness, Jan. 29.

Tian Tao, 54, a citizen of China, was arrested by Rockland Police and ICE for sex trafficking violations and entered ICE custody Feb. 20.

The indictment charges Elijah Gavin aka Timothy O’Reilly aka Elijah Thomas, 29, with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

Tyree Eugene Rideaux, 31, of Henderson, Nevada, was sentenced, Feb. 25, to 132 months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, and subject to registering as lifetime sex offender due to an investigation conducted by ICE, HSI with significant assistance provided by the Mesa Police Department.

Jose Bibiano Cabrera-Cabrera, 37 and Jesus Humberto Limon-Lopez, 43, were taken into U.S. custody after members of drug cartels were recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo.

An investigation by ICE has resulted in a one-year sentence for passport fraud for Jorge Antonio Velez-Lopez, a 69-year-old Colombian national, former archdiocese priest and convicted child molester, Feb. 28.

The operation resulted in the administrative arrest of four Brazilian nationals who had no status to enter or remain in the United States legally, or who had violated the terms of their lawful admission into the U.S.

During this operation, ICE and local police identified and arrested 15 individuals for the violation of federal law involving the use/manufacturing of an access device with the intent to defraud.

Alejandro Munoz and Abel Pena-Garcia, who are identical twins, were involved in a fraudulent dispute scheme that targeted third party payment platforms, like PayPal and Square.

ICE removed two illegally present Honduran nationals convicted of felony sexual offenses, March 3.

ICE arrested criminal alien and fugitive from justice Leandro Romano de Souza, 27, for a felony drug trafficking conviction in Brazil, Jan. 27.

Batista Matos has been removed from the United States on three previous occasions. His first removal was on Oct. 8, 2010, when he was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol after he entered illegally near Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. He was then encountered and removed again in 2011, 2019 and 2023.