Most Wanted: Up To $5 Million Reward Offered For Capture Of Archaga Carías, A Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive And Leader Of Foreign Terrorist Organization MS-13

 The U.S. Justice Department released the information below:

U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization MS-13 leader Yulan Andony Archaga Carías, also known as “Alexander Mendoza” and “Porky,” 43, is the highest-ranking member of MS-13, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), in Honduras and was previously charged in 2021 in a superseding indictment in the Southern District of New York with racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses. Archaga Carías, a Honduran national, was subsequently placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List, the DEA’s Most Wanted Fugitives List, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI)’s Most Wanted Fugitives List. The Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is offering a reward under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction in any country.

“This terrorist leader can no longer be allowed to live free as MS-13’s evil devastates communities in America and throughout the western hemisphere,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “If you can contribute information leading to his arrest – come forward now.”

Archaga Carías remains at large. If you have information, please contact the FBI by email at archaga-carias_tips@fbi.gov, or via WhatsApp at +1-832-267-1688. If you are outside the United States, you may also contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are in the United States, you may also contact the local FBI, DEA, or HSI office in your city. Only tips sent to U.S. Government will be considered for reward.

“Dismantling and ultimately eliminating MS-13 continues to be one of the FBI's highest priorities, and we're not stopping until that mission is complete,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Alongside our dedicated law enforcement partners, the FBI will find Archaga Carías — a terrorist whose reign of terror at the helm of MS-13 is coming to an end.”

“With MS-13 now officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the rules have changed — and so has the mission,” said DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz. “Archaga Carías isn't just a fugitive — he's a foreign terrorist waging war on innocent Americans through murder, trafficking, and terror. Let me be clear: under this Administration, we will dismantle MS-13 piece by piece—and anyone protecting him will fall with him. A $5 million is on the table. Turn him in. End this threat.”

A co-defendant, David Campbell, aka “Viejo Dan” and “Don David,” a Honduran national, is currently in custody in the United States facing the charges contained in the superseding indictment. In addition to Archaga Carías and Campbell, the superseding indictment charges three other MS-13 leaders, Juan Carlos Portillo Santos also known as “Juancy;” Victor Eduardo Morales Zelaya also known as “Cuervo;” and Jorge Alberto Velasquez Paz also known as “Chacarron,” with racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses. Portillo Santos, a Honduran national, is in custody in Honduras serving a lengthy prison sentence. Morales Zelaya and Velasquez Paz, both Honduran nationals, remain at large. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Gregory H. Woods for the Southern District of New York.   

“MS-13 remains one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world, and the recent designation of MS-13 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization underscores this reality,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York. “This Office, working closely with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate, prosecute and track down MS-13’s leadership, no matter where in the world they may be hiding.”

As alleged in the superseding indictment previously unsealed in Manhattan federal court, Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13 is a transnational criminal and foreign terrorist organization that engages in acts of violence, including murders, kidnapping, and assaults, extortion, and large-scale drug importation and distribution throughout Central America and the United States. Archaga Carías is the highest-ranking member of MS-13 in Honduras. As the leader and highest-ranking member of MS-13 in Honduras, Archaga Carías is in charge of, among other things, the gang’s drug trafficking operations, ordering and coordinating acts of violence, including numerous murders, and the laundering of drug proceeds. MS-13’s drug trafficking operations led by Archaga Carías include the processing, receiving, transporting, and distributing of multi-ton loads of cocaine shipped through Honduras and into the United States.

“President Trump has been very clear — we will not allow criminal groups and their members like Porky to threaten Americans,” said Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “We will work with our international partners to find these criminals wherever they may be hiding.”

Archaga Carías and other MS-13 members and associates acting at his direction also provided protection to drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) engaged in transporting multi-ton loads of cocaine through Honduras and destined for the United States. Archaga Carías contracted out members of MS-13 as “Sicarios,” or hit men, to DTOs for payment. Members of MS-13 committed numerous murders for hire for DTOs trafficking cocaine through Honduras to the United States. Archaga Carías and MS-13 also supplied DTOs with firearms, including machineguns, that were received from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and elsewhere. Archaga Carías also ordered multiple murders of rival gang members and drug trafficking competitors in Honduras, as well as other members of MS-13 whom Archaga Carías believed had been disloyal to the gang.

Campbell was one of the principal suppliers of cocaine and weapons, including machineguns, to MS-13. As an associate of MS-13 and close confidant of Archaga Carías, Campbell planned and coordinated retaliatory acts of violence with Archaga Carías, and assisted MS-13 and Archaga Carías in establishing businesses to launder the gang’s drug proceeds. Campbell and MS-13 used businesses they owned or controlled to launder drug proceeds, including through banks in the United States.

Morales Zelaya was a national leader of MS-13 in Honduras and a close associate of Archaga Carías. Morales Zelaya coordinated the gang’s drug trafficking business, acts of violence (including murders) against rivals, and the movement of proceeds from the gang’s illicit activities.

Portillo Santos was a high-ranking member of MS-13 in Honduras who reported to Morales Zelaya. Portillo Santos was responsible for leading MS-13 in one of the largest sectors in Honduras, which included the distribution and movement of large shipments of cocaine, acts of violence (including murders and kidnappings) of rival gang members, and contract murders carried out against rival drug dealers. Campbell, 58, of Honduras, is currently in Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) custody facing the charges in the superseding indictment. Portillo Santos, 36, of Honduras, is currently in custody in Honduras on local charges. Archaga Carías, 43, and Morales Zelaya, 50, of Honduras, remains at large.

If convicted, Archaga Carías faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 40 years in prison. The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV) and the Southern District of New York’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit are handling the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Robles and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Eason, and Trial Attorney Jacob Warren of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are in charge of the prosecution.

This case was brought by JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua and is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the FBOP have been essential law enforcement partners and spearheaded JTFV’s investigations.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal aliens, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The charges contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

The U.S. Navy Joins The War On Drugs

Broad & Liberty ran my piece on the good moves on the war on drugs, including the U.S. Navy helping to secure the southern border.

You can read the piece via the link below or the text below:

Paul Davis: The Navy joins the War on Drugs

As one walks along Broad and Snyder or Kensington and Allegheny, to name but two intersections in Philadelphia where pitiful drug addicts and despicable drug dealers cohabit, one might get the idea that the war on drugs is a losing battle.

I happen to be reading a true crime book about the “cocaine cowboy” drug traffickers in Miami during the outbreak of cocaine use and the violence and corruption that accompanied the sale of the popular drug in the 1980s. The author, like a good number of other journalists, politicians, and even some cops and feds, believes that the war on drugs is a dismal failure. 

These cynics believe that the money spent on law enforcement to combat drugs is wasted because drugs are still being imported to the U.S. in record numbers and Americans are still buying and using the drugs. These critics also note that after one drug lord is arrested, another trafficker eagerly steps up to the leadership role. So, these critics ask, what’s the point?

I don’t subscribe to this idea.

Murders, sadly, are committed. Do these critics also think that homicide divisions should be disbanded because husbands and wives continue to murder each other, as do street gang members? Law enforcement catches murderers one at a time, as they do drug traffickers, taking them off the board. They then move on to the next case. 

I believe that we should throw cold water on this cynicism about drug trafficking and drug use, as there have been some significant battles won recently in the war on drugs.  

For one, the Department of Homeland Security released a report on March 13 on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in the first 50 days of the Trump Administration. ICE reports that they have made 32,809 enforcement arrests during this period. According to ICE, nearly 75 percent of those arrested were accused or convicted criminals. Within this group there were 1,155 criminal gang members. For many of the gang members, drug trafficking is their primary income.

“We have deported known terrorists, cartel members, and gang members from our country,” Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem stated. “We will see the number of deportations continue to rise. And illegal immigrants have the option to self-deport and come back legally in the future. And our team at ICE will help us continue moving forward to make America safe again.”

Another significant positive act is that President Trump designated drug cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations on January 20. This executive order will generate future actions from the American government against the drug traffickers much like we see U.S. law enforcement, the intelligence community and the military act against ISIS and other terrorist groups. 

There is good news on the border as well. CBS News, not exactly a close friend of the Trump administration, reports that the number of illegal migrants crossing the U.S. southern border in President Trump’s first full month in office plunged to a level not seen in at least 25 years. 

As a proud Navy veteran, I’m pleased to see the U.S. Navy get into the act.

On March 15, the U.S. Northern Command announced that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) departed from the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown for a scheduled deployment to assist in the war on drugs.

“USS Gravely’s deployment will contribute to the U.S. Northern Command southern border mission as part of the DOD’s coordinated effort in response to the Presidential Executive Order,” stated General Gregory Guillot, the Commander of the U.S. Northern Command. “Gravely’s sea-going capacity improves our ability to protect the United States’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security.

In support of U.S. Northern Command’s mission to restore territorial integrity at the U.S. southern border, the Northern Command said that the USS Gravely reinforces the nation’s commitment to border security by enhancing maritime efforts and supporting interagency collaboration. 

According to the Northern Command, the ship’s deployment highlights the Department of Defense and Navy’s dedication to national security priorities, contributing to a coordinated and robust response to combating maritime related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration.

“The deployment of Gravely marks a vital enhancement to our nation’s border security framework,” said Adm. Daryl Caudle, the commander of the U.S. Naval Forces, Northern Command. “In collaboration with our interagency partners, Gravely strengthens our maritime presence and exemplifies the Navy’s commitment to national security and safeguarding our territorial integrity with professionalism and resolve.”

The Northern Command also stated that the USS Gravely brings maritime capabilities to the border in response to Presidential executive orders and a national emergency declaration and clarification of the military’s role in protecting the territorial integrity of the United States.

A U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) will be embarked aboard the USS Gravely. The LEDETs carry out a variety of maritime interdiction missions, including counter-piracy, military combat operations, alien migration interdiction, military force protection, counter terrorism, homeland security, and humanitarian response. 

Lastly, on February 28, Mexican drug cartel kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero, along another drug kingpin, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, were arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn for crimes committed as leaders of Mexican drug cartels. Caro Quintero, extradited from Mexico, was also indicted for the 1985 kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. 

“For decades, Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes have flooded the United States and other countries with drugs, violence, and mayhem, killing so many in their quest for power and control, including in RCQ’s case the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Camarena,” stated United States Attorney John Durham. “Today the next step in the American legal proceedings against these two cartel leaders – Caro Quintero, the “Narco of Narcos,” and Carrillo Fuentes, the head of the Juarez Cartel – are finally underway, and we are one step closer to justice being served.  

“My Office continues to be steadfastly focused on the vital work of protecting people of this district, and of all of those in the United States, from the destruction that cartels wreak on our communities.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge of New York Frank Tarantino also weighed in. “Today marks a day which will be remembered in the history of the DEA. For nearly four decades, the men and women of the DEA have pursued Rafael Caro Quintero, the man responsible for the kidnapping, torture, and death of fallen DEA Special Agent Kiki Camarena, and the leader of one the most notorious and violent drug cartels. Today, Rafael Caro Quintero will finally face the consequences for the crimes he committed. No matter how long it takes, or where you hide, the DEA remains patient and committed in our global pursuit to targeting those individuals who have brought violence and destruction to our communities. The DEA will make sure justice is delivered.” 

The ICE arrest and deportation of illegal migrant criminals, the president’s designation of drug cartels as terrorist organizations, the use of the military to stem the flow of dangerous narcotics from the southern border, and the prosecution of the brutal murderer of a DEA agent are all battles won in the war on drugs. 

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com. 

Naval Reservist Charged For Bribe To Obtain Military Identification Cards For Unauthorized Individuals, Including A Chinese National

The U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) released the information below:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A U.S. Navy Reservist from New York was indicted March 3, for bribery of a public official to purchase unauthorized U.S. Department of Defense identification cards in exchange for cash following a joint investigation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Raymond Andres Zumba, 27, of Staten Island, New York, faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. Zumba has been ordered detained pending trial.

According to court documents, in January 2025, a confidential source reported to law enforcement that Zumba, who serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve, was asked whether the source would be willing to issue real, but unauthorized, identification cards for an under-the-table payment. Acting at the direction of federal agents, the source proceeded to engage in a series of communications with Zumba during which they discussed Zumba’s plan to obtain unauthorized ID cards in exchange for cash.

After driving from New York, Zumba arrived in Jacksonville on Feb. 13, with three individuals, all Chinese born. Zumba brought these individuals to NAS Jacksonville where they went into the personnel office after business hours and initiated the process for two of them to receive ID cards. The following day, Zumba met with the source, who gave him two ID cards in exchange for $3,500. Zumba was promptly arrested, and the ID cards were recovered.

It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Mesrobian and Michael J. Coolican.

U.S. Customs And Border Protection Seizes Over 17.5 Tons Of Cocaine In Philadelphia

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released the above photo and below information on the historic drug bust on the Philadelphia seaport on July 21, 2019: 

PHILADELPHIA – A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-led multi-agency examination of shipping containers at the Philadelphia seaport netted a historic load of cocaine, the largest cocaine seizure in the 230-year history of U.S. Customs and CBP, with an estimated weight of over 17.5 tons and a street value of about $1.1 billion.

During a midstream joint boarding Sunday night, CBP, HSI, and U.S. Coast Guard authorities detected anomalies while examining seven shipping containers aboard the MSC Gayane, a 1,030-foot Liberian-flagged container ship. The boarding team escorted the ship to its berth in South Philadelphia and continued its inspection.

The containers were unloaded from the vessel Monday afternoon and CBP confirmed the presence of anomalies. CBP escorted the containers to CBP’s Centralized Examination Station, where CBP officers offloaded truckloads of packages from the containers. 

A combined 15,582 bricks, totaling more than 35,000 pounds of a white, powdery substance, which tested positive for cocaine.  CBP seized the cocaine as well as $56,330 found on the vessel believed to be proceeds from illegal activity.  A multi-agency team continues to inspect containers aboard the vessel.

HSI agents made six arrests and investigation continues. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is prosecuting.  In addition to CBP and HSI, the multi-agency team consisted of U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Philadelphia Police Department, Delaware State Police, and Pennsylvania State Police.  All contributed to the seizure.

“This is momentous work by the CBP team at the Port of Philadelphia,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “Their vigilance and inspectional scrutiny resulted in the interception of the largest seizure of cocaine in the 230 history of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  Because of our officers’ efforts, over 1 billion dollars of dangerous narcotics was taken off the streets.  I have no doubt that our officers saved lives and significantly impacted transnational criminal organizations with this interception.”

 “This week’s cocaine seizure is a tremendous accomplishment that demonstrates the combined power of HSI’s collaboration with CBP, the Coast Guard and our state and local law enforcement partners,” said Marlon Miller, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia. “Narcotics smuggling continues to pose a real and tangible threat to our communities, particularly when such activities are perpetuated by the crewmembers of a commercial vessel, as alleged in this investigation.  HSI will continue to vigorously pursue investigations that target drug trafficking organizations engaged in the worldwide smuggling of dangerous narcotics.”

“The combined expertise, readiness, and responsiveness of this joint law enforcement team shows how training and cooperation prevents contraband from entering our ports and harming our communities,” said Capt. Scott Anderson, commander of Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay and Captain of the Port. “The seamless coordination between Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, Coast Guard Investigative Services, Maritime Safety and Security Team New York, Coast Guard Stations Cape May and Philadelphia, and Joint Task Force-East, working alongside our federal, state, and local partners, amplifies our ability to interdict contraband on both the open seas and in our ports.”

The contents of the shipping containers included wine, coated paperboard, vegetable extracts, and dried nuts from Chile, carbon black from Colombia, and scrap metal batteries from United Arab Emirates. They were destined to Ireland, Nigeria, South Africa, Lebanon, India, and Haiti.

The MSC Gayane made port calls to Chile, Peru, Panama and the Bahamas before arriving in Philadelphia.

In March, a multi-agency team intercepted more than one-half ton of cocaine, which at the time was CBP’s fourth largest recorded cocaine seizure in the Port of Philadelphia. CBP’s previous record cocaine seizure in Philadelphia weighed 1,945 pounds and occurred on May 23, 1998.

CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.  

MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Participate In A Violent Racketeering Enterprise

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

A Maryland gang member pleaded guilty today to his participation in a racketeering enterprise in furtherance of the activities of the gang known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including his participation in two conspiracies to commit murder.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen M. Schenning of the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Chief Douglas Holland of the Hyattsville Police Department; Chief Edward Hargis of the Frederick Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy made the announcement.

Selvin Raymundo Salazar, aka “Inquieto,” aka “Little,” 26, pleaded guilty before the Honorable Judge Peter J. Messitte in the District of Maryland to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise.  

“Selvin Raymundo Salazar and his MS-13 clique terrorized communities in Maryland by committing senseless acts of violence,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “Today’s guilty plea makes plain the Department’s unwavering commitment to working with our federal, state, and local partners to use all lawful tools at our disposal to disrupt the significant threat that this violent and ruthless gang poses to our communities.”

“MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization that presents a direct public safety threat, not just to the Maryland-area communities we’ve been sworn to protect, but also to communities across the country,” said Special Agent in Charge Watson.  “Homeland Security Investigations is committed to investigating MS-13 criminal activities, collaborating with our local law-enforcement partners to crackdown on this international gang and ensuring that Maryland remains safeguarded from the violent crimes MS-13 commits.”

According to the plea agreement, MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Frederick County, Maryland.  MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence within the gang and against rival gangs.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.

Pursuant to his plea agreement, Salazar admitted that from at least 2012 through at least 2014, he was a member and associate of the Normandie Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13.  Salazar admitted that on Feb. 28, 2013, and again on July 30, 2014, for the purpose of maintaining and increasing his position in MS-13, he and other MS-13 members conspired to murder victims that he and his co-conspirators had identified as chavalas.

Specifically, Salazar admitted that on Feb. 28, 2013, in the Lewisdale community of Prince George’s County, Maryland, he and members of the Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside clique of MS-13 traveled in a vehicle, searching for chavalas.  Salazar was armed with a .380 caliber handgun that belonged to the Normandie clique.  After observing an individual that he and his co-conspirators believed to be a chavala, a co-conspirator took the firearm from Salazar, and Salazar and a co-conspirator exited the car and approached the victim, who was standing with a companion.  Salazar’s co-conspirator took the handgun from Salazar and shot the victim as the victim’s companion ran away.  Salazar and his co-conspirator ran back to the vehicle and he and the occupants of the vehicle fled.  Salazar then returned the .380 caliber firearm to the Normandie clique.

Salazar further admitted that on July 30, 2014, in Hyattsville, Maryland, he and at least two other members or associates of the Normandie clique of MS-13 approached three victims.  According to Salazar, two of his co-defendants pulled out firearms and shot one of the victims  seven times, causing wounds to the victim’s upper torso, right arm and face.  The second victim sustained a gunshot wound to his right side.  Salazar further stated that, prior to the shooting, he and his co-conspirators had been informed by an associate of MS-13 that the victims were chavalas. 

Five of the shell casings recovered from the scene of the July 30, 2014 shooting were linked to fired casings recovered at other MS-13-related crime scenes, including the Feb. 28, 2013 shooting described above; a murder that took place in Hyattsville, Maryland on Nov. 11, 2012; and a shooting that took place in Laurel, Maryland on March 28, 2014.

Two of Salazar’s co-defendants remain charged in the third superseding indictment with various racketeering violations and multiple violent crimes, including murder.  The trial of one of the remaining defendants is scheduled to commence on Feb. 20.  An indictment is merely an allegation.  Those defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Salazar is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23.

HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Frederick County Police Department, the Hyattsville City Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Lindsay Eyler Kaplan are prosecuting the case.

Attorney General Sessions Statement On The Verdict In People Of the State Of California Vs. Jose Ines Garcia Zarate AKA Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez

The U.S. Justice Department released Attorney General Sessions comments on the verdict in the Kate Steinle case:

“When jurisdictions choose to return criminal aliens to the streets rather than turning them over to federal immigration authorities, they put the public’s safety at risk. San Francisco’s decision to protect criminal aliens led to the preventable and heartbreaking death of Kate Steinle. While the State of California sought a murder charge for the man who caused Ms. Steinle’s death—a man who would not have been on the streets of San Francisco if the city simply honored an ICE detainer—the people ultimately convicted him of felon in possession of a firearm. The Department of Justice will continue to ensure that all jurisdictions place the safety and security of their communities above the convenience of criminal aliens. I urge the leaders of the nation’s communities to reflect on the outcome of this case and consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement officers.”

22 MS-13 Members And Associates Charged Federally In ICE’s MS-13 Targeted ‘Operation Raging Bull’ Which Netted A Total Of 267 Arrests

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials today announced the results of stepped up efforts by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the department to target and dismantle MS-13 – culminating in the arrest of 267 in the United States and overseas.

“Operation Raging Bull” was led by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with support from federal, state, local and international law enforcement partners, and was conducted in support of the Department of Justice’s renewed prioritization of the violent transnational gang.

“With more than 10,000 members across 40 states, MS-13 is one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the United States today,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “President Trump has ordered the Department of Justice to reduce crime and take down transnational criminal organizations, and we will be relentless in our pursuit of these objectives. That’s why I have ordered our drug trafficking task forces to use every law available to arrest, prosecute, convict, and defund MS-13. And we are getting results. So far this year, we have secured convictions against more than 1,200 gang members and worked with our partners in Central America to arrest and charge some 4,000 MS-13 members.  I want to thank the Department of Homeland Security, our federal law enforcement agents and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section as well as Treasury, BOP, DOJ’s OCDETF task force members, and all of our state and local law enforcement partners for their hard work. These 267 arrests are the next step toward making this country safer by taking MS-13 off of our streets for good.”

“MS-13 has long been a priority for ICE. However we are now combating the gang with renewed focus and an unprecedented level of cooperation among DHS’s components and our domestic and international partners,” said Thomas Homan, ICE Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director. “ICE has the ability to pursue complex criminal cases using our statutory authorities and to prevent crime by using our administrative arrest authorities to remove gang members from the country. We will not rest until every member, associate, and leader of MS-13 has been held accountable for their crimes, and those in this country illegally have been removed.”

The operation was conducted in two phases, targeting dangerous gang members and their global financial networks. The first phase of the operation which was announced previously, netted 53 arrests in El Salvador at the conclusion of an 18-month investigation in September. The second phase was conducted across the United States from Oct. 8 to Nov. 11, and concluded with 214 MS-13 arrests nationwide.

HSI received significant operational support, including intelligence sharing and collaboration, from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons (BOP), as well as state, local, federal, and international law enforcement partners.  The Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, with funding from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, along with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Districts of Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Northern District of California, Southern District of Iowa and Southern District of Texas, and are prosecuting the cases.

"Securing the homeland is a critical piece of the USCIS mission,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “We are committed to supporting and providing intelligence to our law enforcement colleagues on public safety initiatives like Operation Raging Bull. We will bring all of our agency’s resources to bear in helping protect the American public from violent crime, and in the pursuit of those who seek to endanger the security of our nation.”

"This joint effort is not new. It is something we all do as law enforcement,” said Border Patrol Deputy Chief Scott Luck. “I look forward to continue working with my partners here at Headquarters as well as the field to address not just this threat but all threats.”

“The Bureau of Prisons is proud to have supported our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in this successful effort to enhance public safety,” said Assistant Director Frank Lara for the Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Programs. “The Bureau of Prisons will continue to work collaboratively to combat the threat violent gangs pose inside prisons and in the community.”

Of the total 214 arrests made in the United States, 93 were arrested on federal and/or state criminal charges including murder, aggravated robbery, Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) offenses, Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) offenses, narcotics trafficking, narcotics possession, firearms offenses, domestic violence, assault, forgery, DUI and illegal entry/reentry. The remaining 121 were arrested on administrative immigration violations.

Sixteen of the 214 arrested were U.S. citizens and 198 were foreign nationals, of which only five had legal status to be in the United States. Foreign nationals arrested were from El Salvador (135), Honduras (29), Mexico (17), Guatemala (12), Ecuador (4) and Costa Rica (1).

Sixty-four individuals had illegally crossed the border as unaccompanied alien children; most are now adults. 

Examples of the federal prosecutions during this operation include:

In Baltimore, Maryland, the arrest and indictment of four MS-13 members on charges that include violent crimes in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering;

In Greenbelt, Maryland, the arrest and indictment of eight MS-13 members on charges that include conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion; and MS-13 members and associates were arrested in East Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts; Falfurrias, Hidalgo and Laredo, Texas; Nogales, Tucson and Yuma, Arizona; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Annapolis, Baltimore, Clinton, Beltsville, Upper Marlboro, Centreville and Jessup, Maryland; and San Jose, California and charged with various federal offenses including illegal alien in possession of a firearm and illegal re-entry after deportation.

  

Following this operation, ICE has added six MS-13 fugitives to its list of “most wanted” individuals, including one fugitive wanted for homicide in Montgomery County, Texas, and five others wanted for their involvement in the homicide and attempted homicides of El Salvadoran police officers. All are suspected of being somewhere in the U.S.

Individuals are confirmed as gang members if they admit membership in a gang; have been convicted of violating Title 18 USC 521 or any other federal or state law criminalizing or imposing civil consequences for gang-related activity; or if they meet certain other criteria such as having tattoos identifying a specific gang or being identified as a gang member by a reliable source.

Gang associates are individuals who exhibit gang member criteria but who are not formally initiated into the gang. Law enforcement officers encountering these individuals will determine whether indications of gang association are present by referring to the gang membership criteria.

Note: I wrote a piece on MS-13 for Counterterrorism magazine, which will appear in the upcoming issue. I’ll post the piece here when it comes out.

Last Defendant In The United States Pleads Guilty In Multimillion Dollar India-Based Call Center Scam Targeting U.S. Victims

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

An Illinois man pleaded guilty today to money laundering conspiracy, joining six other defendants who recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for their roles in liquidating and laundering victim payments generated through a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme perpetrated by a network of India-based call centers responsible for defrauding U.S. residents of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez of the Southern District of Texas, Acting Deputy Director Peter T. Edge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Inspector General J. Russell George of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and Inspector General John Roth of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG) made the announcement.

Miteshkumar Patel, 42, most recently residing in Willowbrook, Illinois; Sunny Joshi, 47, of Sugar Land, Texas; Jagdishkumar Chaudhari, 39, of Montgomery, Alabama; and Rajesh Bhatt, 53, of Sugar Land, each pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy.  Raman Patel, 82, of Gilbert, Arizona; Praful Patel, 50, of Fort Myers, Florida; and Jerry Norris, 47, of Oakland, California, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering offenses.  The pleas were entered before U.S. District Court Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas between Sept. 22 and Nov. 13, except for Raman Patel’s plea, which was entered before U.S. District Court Judge Michelle Burns in the District of Arizona on Nov. 6.  Six of the men have been in federal custody since their arrests in October 2016 and will remain detained until their pending sentencing dates.

According to admissions made in connection with their pleas, Miteshkumar Patel, Raman Patel, Joshi, Jagdishkumar Chaudhari, Bhatt, Praful Patel, Norris and their co-conspirators perpetrated a complex scheme in which individuals from call centers located in Ahmedabad, India, impersonated officials from the IRS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and engaged in other telephone call scams, in a ruse designed to defraud victims located throughout the United States.  Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, call center operators targeted U.S. victims who were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay alleged monies owed to the government.  Victims who agreed to pay the scammers were instructed how to provide payment, including by purchasing general purpose reloadable (GPR) cards or wiring money.  Upon payment, the call centers would immediately turn to a network of “runners” based in the United States to liquidate and launder the fraudulently obtained funds.

Based on admissions in Miteshkumar Patel’s plea, beginning in or around 2013, Miteshkumar Patel managed a crew of a half dozen domestic runners involved in the criminal scheme, liquidating as much as approximately $25 million in victim funds for conspirators from India-based call center and organizational co-defendant HGLOBAL.  Patel communicated about the fraudulent scheme with various domestic and India-based co-defendants via email, text messaging and WhatsApp messaging.  Miteshkumar Patel and his runners purchased reloadable GPR cards that were registered using the misappropriated personal identifying information (PII) of unsuspecting victims that were later used to receive victims’ funds, and used those reloadable cards containing victims’ funds to purchase money orders and then deposit those money orders into bank accounts, as directed, while keeping a portion of the scam proceeds as profit.  Miteshkumar Patel also trained the runners he managed on how to conduct the liquidation scheme, provided them with vehicles to conduct their activities in Illinois and throughout the country, and directed a co-defendant to open bank accounts and limited liability companies for use in the conspiracy.  Miteshkumar Patel further admitted to using a gas station he owned in Racine, Wisconsin to liquidate victim funds, and possessing and using equipment at his Illinois apartment to make fraudulent identification documents used by co-defendant runners in his crew to receive wire transfers directly from scam victims and make bank deposits in furtherance of the conspiracy.

According to admissions in Raman Patel’s guilty plea, from in or around 2014, Patel served as a domestic runner in and around south-central Arizona, liquidating victim scam funds per the instructions of a co-defendant.  Patel also served as a driver for two co-defendants in furtherance of their GPR liquidation and related activities and sent bank deposit receipts related to the processing of victim payments and fraud proceeds to an India-based co-defendant via email and document scan services offered at various retail stores.

Based on admissions in Joshi and Bhatt’s guilty pleas, beginning in or around 2012, Joshi and Bhatt worked together as runners in the Houston, Texas area along with a co-defendant.  They admitted to extensively communicating via email and text with, and operating at the direction of, India-based conspirators from organizational co-defendant CALL MANTRA call center to liquidate up to approximately $9.5 million in victim funds, including by purchasing GPR cards and using those cards, funded by co-conspirators with scam victim funds, to purchase money orders and deposit them in third party bank accounts, while keeping a percentage of the scam proceeds for themselves as profit.  Joshi has also agreed to plead guilty to one count of naturalization fraud pursuant to a federal indictment obtained against him in the Eastern District of Louisiana, based on fraudulently obtaining his U.S. citizenship.

Jagdishkumar Chaudhari admitted in his plea that between April 2014 and June 2015, he worked as a member of a crew of runners operating in the Chicago area and elsewhere throughout the country, at the direction of Miteshkumar Patel and others.  In exchange for monthly cash payments, Jagdishkumar Chaudhari admitted to driving to hundreds of retail stores to purchase GPR cards to be loaded with victim funds by co-conspirators in India, purchasing money orders with GPR cards that had been funded with victim proceeds, depositing money orders purchased using victim scam proceeds at various banks, and retrieving wire transfers sent by victims of the scheme.  Jagdishkumar Chaudhari is an Indian national with no legal status in the United States, and has agreed to deportation after he serves his sentence as a condition of his guilty plea.

In his plea, Praful Patel admitted that between in or around June 2013 and December 2015, he was a domestic runner who liquidated funds in and around Fort Myers, Florida for conspirators from India-based call center and organizational co-defendant HGLOBAL.  Praful Patel communicated extensively via WhatsApp texts with his conspirators.  For a percentage commission on transactions he conducted, Praful Patel admitted to purchasing reloadable GPR cards that were registered using the misappropriated PII of unsuspecting victims that were later used to receive victims’ funds, using those reloadable GPR cards containing victims’ funds to purchase money orders and depositing those money orders into bank accounts as directed, and using fake identity documents to receive wire transfers from victims.

According to Norris’ guilty plea, beginning in or around January 2013 continuing through December 2014, he was a runner who worked with conspirators associated with India-based call center and organizational co-defendant HGLOBAL, and was responsible for the liquidation of victim scam funds in and around California.  Norris admitted he communicated extensively via WhatsApp and email with India-based co-defendants including Sagar “Shaggy” Thakar, purchased GPR cards used in the scheme, sent lead lists to conspirators in India that were then used by callers located in the call centers to target potential victims in the telefraud scheme, received scam proceeds via wire transfers using fictitious names, and laundered scam proceeds from GPR cards via ATM withdrawals.

To date, Miteshkumar Patel, Raman Patel, Joshi, Jagdishkumar Chaudhari, Bhatt, Praful Patel, Norris, 49 other individuals and five India-based call centers have been charged for their roles in the fraud and money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas on Oct. 19, 2016.  Including the pleas announced today, a total of 24 defendants have pleaded guilty thus far in relation to this investigation.  Defendants Bharatkumar Patel, Ashvinbhai Chaudhari, Harsh Patel, Nilam Parikh, Hardik Patel, Rajubhai Patel, Viraj Patel, Dilipkumar A. Patel, Fahad Ali, Bhavesh Patel, Asmitaben Patel, Montu Barot, Nilesh Pandya, Dipakkumar Patel, Nisarg Patel, Rajesh Kumar, and Dilipkumar Ramanlal Patel previously pleaded guilty on various dates between April and September 2017.

Miteshkumar Patel is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2018.

The remaining defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

ICE – Homeland Security Investigations, DHS-OIG and TIGTA led the investigation of this case.  Also providing significant support were: the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs; Ft. Bend County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; police departments in Hoffman Estates and Naperville, Illinois, and Leonia, New Jersey; San Diego County District Attorney’s Office Family Protection and Elder Abuse Unit; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General; IOC-2; INTERPOL Washington; USCIS; U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service; and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Middle District of Alabama, Northern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Northern District of California, District of Colorado, Northern District of Florida, Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, Northern District of Indiana, District of Nevada and District of New Jersey.  The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau also provided assistance in TIGTA’s investigation.

Senior Trial Attorney Michael Sheckels and Trial Attorney Mona Sahaf of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), Trial Attorney Amanda Wick of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Mark McIntyre and Craig M. Feazel of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting this case.  HRSP’s Ann Marie Ursini and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Kennedy of the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the naturalization fraud case against Joshi.

A Department of Justice website has been established to provide information about the case to already identified and potential victims and the public.  Anyone who believes they may be a victim of fraud or identity theft in relation to this investigation or other telefraud scam phone calls may contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) via this website.

Anyone who wants additional information about telefraud scams generally, or preventing identity theft or fraudulent use of their identity information, may obtain helpful information on the IRS tax scams website, the FTC phone scam website and the FTC identity theft website.