Tag Archives: charges

California Man Convicted for Smuggling Heroin in Tortilla Press

January 29, 2013blogarrest, CBP, charges, conviction, drug smuggling, drug trade, drug trafficking, heroin, HSI, ICE, Mexico, narcoticsAlex Meyerovich

A Bay Area man faces at least 10 years in prison after being found guilty Tuesday, January 22, 2013, by a federal jury on charges stemming from his involvement in a scheme to import heroin into the United States from Mexico.

Mike Gama, 23, of Mountain View, was convicted of both possession with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and importation of a kilogram or more of heroin. The charges are the result of an 18-month probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The jury found that Gama had knowingly participated in a scheme to import heroin into the U.S. when he accepted delivery of a package containing more than a kilogram of heroin concealed inside a wooden tortilla press. The guilty verdict followed a weeklong jury trial.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that on June 20, 2011, Gama received a package shipped from Michoacan, Mexico, via DHL Express. Inside the package, which was addressed to Gama, was a wooden tortilla press containing more than one kilogram of a black tar-like substance. Subsequent lab tests confirmed the substance was Mexican black tar heroin. After Gama signed for the package, HSI special agents executed a search warrant to recover the parcel containing the heroin.

The package was initially intercepted by CBP officers inspecting arriving international shipments at DHL’s hub in Cincinnati, Ohio. CBP alerted HSI special agents inSan Jose, who then made preparations to seize the parcel when it arrived in California.

Following the guilty verdict, Gama, who had been free on bond, was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. His sentencing is scheduled for April 15 before U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Davila in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for each of the two counts is life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million, with a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary G. Fry and Amie D. Rooney, with further support provided by Tracey Andersen and Laurie Worthen.

Texas Men Charged with Marijuana Distribution Ring

November 2, 2012blogarrest, charges, conspiracy, criminal alien, drug ring, drug trade, drug trafficking, ERO, HSI, ICE, illegal alien, illegal immigration, marijuanaAlex Meyerovich

Four Texas men are in federal custody following their arrest by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). They are charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 36.5 kilograms of marijuana.

Javier Ruiz-Guzman, 45, Isaias Duran-Duran, 35, Jose Jesus Descarena-Duran, 40, and Andres Duran-Duran, 45 – all Fort Worth residents – made their initial appearances in federal court the week ending in Friday, October 26, 2012, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton. They were scheduled to appear again Tuesday, October 30, 2012, for detention and preliminary hearings. This announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the complaint, on Oct. 24, ERO officers visited a residence on East Biddison Street in Fort Worth to serve an administrative arrest warrant on Ruiz-Guzman. Ruiz-Guzman was targeted for since he was a criminal alien illegally present in the United States. When Ruiz answered the knock at the door, the officer observed a handgun in plain sight within Ruiz’s reach and secured it. Ruiz’s wife advised there were other firearms in the residence. She led the officer to the master bedroom where there was a pistol on the vanity and a rifle between the bedframe and wall. Ruiz advised that marijuana was stored in a detached shed on the property and provided the officers a key. A large black bag containing about 36.5 kilograms of marijuana, wrapped in cellophane bricks, was found in the shed.

Ruiz later advised officers that Isaias Duran-Duran had contacted him the previous day and asked him to keep the marijuana overnight. Ruiz agreed and expected a $1,000 payment to keep it. He acknowledged that he had done this before. He advised officers that “Isaias” was supposed to call him that morning to arrange to pick up the marijuana. At 8:31 a.m., Ruiz received a call from “Isaias” who advised that he was on his way and that his brother would also be coming. Shortly thereafter, Isaias Duran-Duran arrived. Ten minutes later, Jose Jesus Descarena-Duran and Adres Duran-Duran arrived in a Toyota truck. A subsequent search of that truck revealed $24,000 in cash, wrapped in bundles, located under the driver’s side door.

A federal criminal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged, and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment. The maximum penalty for the charged offense is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“Millennium Bomber” Receives 37-Year Prison Sentence

November 1, 2012blogattack, bomb, CBP, charges, document fraud, FBI, HSI, ICE, identification fraud, Los Angeles International Airport, Millennium Bomber, prison, sentencing, terrorism, terroristAlex Meyerovich

The Algerian native known as the “Millennium Bomber” was sentenced Wednesday, October 24, 2012, to 37 years in federal prison for his failed 1999 plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport.

The case was investigated by the special agents with the former U.S. Customs Service’s Office of Investigations, which is now part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and the FBI.

Ahmed Ressam, 45, was arrested Dec. 14, 1999, as he attempted to enter the United States through the port of entry at Port Angeles, Wash. Ressam had traveled on a ferry fromVictoria,British Columbia,Canada, in a rental car. In the vehicle, he had bomb-making materials and powerful explosives. His plan was foiled after U.S. Customs inspectors grew suspicious of his nervous demeanor.

Following an 18-day trial in 2001, Ressam was convicted on multiple charges including: act of terrorism transcending a national boundary; placing an explosive in proximity to a terminal; using false identification documents; using a fictitious name for admission; making a false statement; smuggling; transporting explosives; possessing an unregistered explosive device; and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony.

Facing a possible sentence of 65 years to life in prison in early 2001, Ressam agreed to provide information to the United States and testify against others. However, he stopped providing information in 2003 and now claims that he was mentally incompetent when he provided the information.

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012, prosecutors recommended a sentence that would keep Ressam incarcerated for life, noting that two key prosecutions have been dismissed because of his lack of cooperation. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour acknowledged that Ressam was “highly culpable and took substantial steps to carry out a horrific crime.” However in sentencing him to 37 years, the judge said a life sentence was too harsh and it was unlikely Ressam would be involved in another violent conspiracy.

In 2005, and in a second sentencing hearing in 2008, Judge Coughenour sentenced Ressam to 22 years in prison. Earlier this year the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case for resentencing, finding that the 22-year sentence was unreasonably low.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

Dozens of Drug-Trafficking Gang Members Arrested and Face Federal Charges

October 4, 2012blogarrest, charges, Chicago, cocaine, CPD, criminal complaint, DEA, drug distribution, drug trade, drug trafficking, FBI, heroin, HSI, ICE, indictment, marijuanaAlex Meyerovich

Two leaders of separate but sometimes collaborating drug-trafficking organizations were arrested and are among 39 defendants facing federal drug charges, federal and local law enforcement officials announced Friday, September 28, 2012.

The charges stem from an investigation led jointly by the following agencies: FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Chicago Police Department.

Agents executed three federal search warrants Thursday, September 27, 2012 at the same time they began arresting defendants in the Chicago area, Indiana, Texas and California. Agents seized about 2.5 kilograms (about 5.5 pounds) of cocaine, more than $175,000 in cash, and several firearms. The two alleged leaders, Jesus Ramirez-Padilla, 39, and Humberto Jimenez, 26, were among 27 defendants arrested. The whereabouts of four others were accounted for, and eight remain fugitives. Previously, during the one-year investigation that began in July 2011, agents had seized more than 13 kilograms of cocaine, 10 kilograms of marijuana, 1.5 kilograms of heroin, and about $75,000 in cash.

All 39 defendants were charged with various drug distribution offenses in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday, September 26, 2012, in the Northern District of Illinois and unsealed Sept. 27 following the arrests. The defendants who were arrested began appearing Thursday, September 27, 2012, before Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez in U.S. District Court; they remain in federal custody pending detention hearings scheduled for next week.

The operation of Thursday, September 27, 2012, brings to nearly 100 the number of defendants who have been arrested and charged in Chicago with federal or state drug trafficking offenses in the last three weeks.

Gary S. Shapiro, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, praised the dedication and teamwork of the FBI, DEA, and HSI agents who worked diligently with the Chicago Police Department to disrupt these alleged drug-trafficking organizations. Shapiro announced the charges with the following: William C. Monroe, acting special agent-in-charge of the FBI in Chicago; Jack Riley, special agent-in-charge of DEA in Chicago; Gary Hartwig, special agent-in-charge of HSI Chicago; and Garry F. McCarthy, superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

The following agencies also participated: U.S.Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Illinois State Police, Cook County Sheriff’s Police, and the Illinoispolice departments of Berwynand Oak Lawn. The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

According to the complaint affidavit, the investigation determined that Ramirez-Padilla and Jimenez, both of Chicago, each led their own drug trafficking organization. Both organizations regularly bought and sold multi-kilogram quantities of powder cocaine on Chicago’s southwest side. Each organization had its own wholesale distributors, drug couriers, stash houses, workers and suppliers. Although the Ramirez and Jimenez organizations operated independently, they sometimes supplied each other with kilograms of powder cocaine. Both organizations took steps to protect themselves from detection by law enforcement, such as: using code words to disguise references to narcotics and other items, regularly replacing telephones, using different vehicles to transport drugs, and engaging in counter-surveillance techniques.

The 205-page affidavit details conversations among various defendants who were intercepted on 26 different telephones during the investigation pursuant to court-authorized electronic surveillance.

Sixteen defendants, who were charged in two separate conspiracies to possess and distribute cocaine and/or heroin, face a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. The remaining defendants face maximum sentences of up to 20 or 40 years in prison, and maximum fines of $2 million or $5 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathalina Hudson, Joseph Thompson, and John Kness Northern District of Illinois, are prosecuting this case.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.