Tag Archives: Guatemala

Guatemalan National Extradited to Florida to Face Drug Smuggling Charges

February 15, 2013blogarrest, Coast Guard, cocaine, criminal alien, DEA, drug smuggling, drug trade, drug trafficking, extradition, FBI, Guatemala, HSI, ICE, indictment, Panama Express Strike ForceAlex Meyerovich

A Guatemalan drug smuggler was extradited to Tampa Friday, February 8, 2013, following an investigation by the Panama Express Strike Force, a task force that targets maritime smuggling. The strike force consists of several federal agencies, including: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service; the Joint Interagency Task Force – South; and, the United States Marshals Service. The Guatemala government and Guatemalan law enforcement agencies also assisted with the investigation.

Alma Lucrecia Hernandez-Preciado, aka “La Tia,” 40, of Tecun Uman,Guatemala, was indicted in the Middle District of Florida Sept. 22, 2011, for violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act.

According to the indictment, Hernandez-Preciado helped organize the maritime smuggling of cocaine shipments into the United States. She was allegedly involved in a May 2011 drug smuggling venture where the crew of a go-fast boat was interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of Guatemala, and law enforcement authorities seized 347 kilograms of cocaine. Hernandez-Preciado is charged with participating in a conspiracy with others to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. She is also charged with helping others distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine.

Hernandez-Preciado was arrested in Guatemala Oct. 10, 2011. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

Guatemalan National Arrested for Smuggling Heroin in Powdered Juice Mix

September 12, 2012blogarrest, CBP, criminal alien, detention, drug trade, drug trafficking, ERO, Guatemala, heroin, HSI, ICEAlex Meyerovich

A Guatemalan woman was arrested Friday, September 7, 2012, and charged with importing about three kilograms of heroin into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

This investigation is being conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Monica Leticia Morales de Guzman was arrested Sept. 7 as she arrived at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) from Guatemala en route to Boston, Mass. She is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson Sept. 10.

The criminal complaint indicates that on Sept. 7 Morales de Guzman presented a valid Guatemalan passport, a valid U.S. visa and her Customs Declaration Form. She was referred to secondary inspection to undergo baggage examination, and CBP officers discovered nearly three kilograms of heroin after a canine alerted to the presence of narcotics on her luggage.

Located in a shopping bag inside her pink suitcase, officers discovered nine packages of powdered juice mix which concealed pink plastic bags containing a total of 2.994 kilograms (6 pounds and 9.6 ounces) of heroin, according to the complaint.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting the case.

Criminal Alien Arrested for Sex Trafficking

September 7, 2012blogarrest, criminal alien, ERO, Guatemala, HSI, human trafficking, ICE, illegal alien, illegal immigration, Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force, prostitution, sex traffickingAlex Meyerovich

A Maryland man was arrested late September 5, 2012, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents on federal charges of transporting a teen girl as part of his prostitution business.

Julio Cesar Revolorio Ramos, 28, of Adelphi, Md., a native of Guatemala illegally present in the United States, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, if convicted.

“Sex trafficking of a minor is a particularly heinous crime,” said John P. Torres, special agent in charge of HSI Washington, D.C. “HSI is fully committed to working with our law enforcement partners, both locally and internationally, to combat the crime of human trafficking.”

According to court documents, Ramos allegedly operated a prostitution service that transported women from Maryland to engage in commercial sex with clients in northern Virginia. Starting in January 2009 – when the victim was 15 years old – Ramos allegedly prostituted the teen girl from Maryland, and he continued to prostitute her at various times over the next year and a half. Court records allege that the victim was recruited by Ramos’s girlfriend and that the victim lived with them at a residence in Hyattsville, Md.

“We have zero-tolerance for those who exploit vulnerable teen girls for profit,” said Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Juvenile prostitution is an unconscionable crime, and we’re determined to put these prostitution rings out of business in northern Virginia.”

“Juvenile sex traffickers represent the worst kind of predators – those who go after children,” said Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli, II. “My office remains committed to protecting Virginia’s most vulnerable citizens from these predators. It is my hope that this arrest will put us one step closer to eradicating human trafficking in Virginia, which is why this task force was put together.”

This case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force. Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Birnbaum and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Frank are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Founded in 2004, the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies – along with nongovernmental organizations – dedicated to combating human trafficking and related crimes.

Drug Trafficker Arrested in Guatemala for Intent to Import Cocaine

April 9, 2012blogarrest, cocaine, drug trade, Guatemala, HSI, ICEAlex Meyerovich

A drug trafficker was charged and arrested in Guatemala Tuesday, April 3, for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and possessing firearms in furtherance of his narcotics importation activities. This arrest comes as a result of an investigation assisted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) as part of the Drug Enforcement Administration New York Strike Force.

Horst Walther Overdick-Mejia, 44, was arrested in Guatemala where he was detained pending extradition to the United States.

According to court documents and other information in the public record in Guatemala, Overdick-Mejia is a major Guatemalan drug trafficker currently aligned with Los Zetas, one of Mexico’s most violent and increasingly powerful drug cartels. Los Zetas imports cocaine through Guatemala and other countries in Central America into Mexico, and then transport it to the United States.

Since 1999, Overdick-Mejia has facilitated the importation of cocaine into Guatemala by
securing airstrips in the country for planes carrying hundreds of kilograms. In 2002, Overdick-Mejia was responsible for the arrival of a 1,200-kilogram cocaine shipment at an airstrip in Guatemala, which he and his associates then transported into Mexico using hidden compartments in trucks. Overdick-Mejia then began to purchase cocaine and transported it fromGuatemala to Los Zetas inMexico.

During this investigation, Guatemalan law enforcement officers recovered videos of
Overdick-Mejia with prominent members of Los Zetas in Guatemala at a “narcofiesta,” a large party they hosted in Guatemala, and at a horse race. Guatemalan officers also recovered a drug ledger detailing the movement of guns, narcotics and deliveries of money to Overdick-Mejia.

Overdick-Mejia is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine,
knowing that the cocaine would be imported into the United States. This charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

He is also charged with one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug
trafficking crime. This count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.