March 8, 2007

Two foreign nationals and one U.S. citizen sentenced on drug trafficking charges

NEW ORLEANS - Michael A. Holt, special agent in charge, Office of Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Jim Letten, United States attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced today that two Colombian nationals and one U.S. citizen were sentenced to long prison terms for conspiring to distribute over 500 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride.

Ferney Alonso Angulo-Estupiyan aka Mesach Cardona, age 39, received a sentence of 262 months; Jhon Alexander Ibarguen-Vanegas aka Edgardo Reyes Rodriguez, age 33, received a sentence of 262 months and Tracy Lamont Walton, age 32, a U.S. citizen, received a sentence of 120 months. The defendants admitted they smuggled cocaine from Venezuela into the United States using stowaways on board various cargo vessels. The narcotics were distributed to different cities including New Orleans, La., Houston, Texas, and Jackson, Miss.

ICE agents seized 262 kilograms of cocaine that had been smuggled in the rudder compartment of the MV Genmar Agamemnon. Agents also observed four stowaways swimming away from the rudder compartment at the time of the seizure. Three individuals were arrested on the bank of the Mississippi River. Agents later learned that the fourth stowaway died in his attempt to flee.

"It's an ICE priority to identify and dismantle the vulnerabilities that threaten the security of our country said Michael A. Holt, special agent in charge, Office of Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) here in New Orleans. "These convictions have taken serious criminals off the street and shut down an illegal drug trafficking enterprise that threatened the welfare of our communities. I want to commend the ICE special agents who worked this case."

United States Attorney Jim Letten stated, "Today's sentences are significant in a number of respects. First and most importantly, it is further evidence of the commitment and dedication of the United States Attorney's Office and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to investigate and dismantle drug smuggling operations. It is also compelling evidence of the outstanding partnership between state and federal law enforcement throughout Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. My special thanks goes out to Special Agents of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Mississippi's Madison County Police Department and Hinds County Sheriff's Department, the Houston Police Department and the Texas Attorney General's Office."

This multi-jurisdictional investigation was led by special agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New Orleans and involved the Galveston and Houston, Texas offices, the Jackson, Mississippi offices, as well as the cooperation of the Madison County Mississippi Police Department, the Hinds County Mississippi Sheriff's Department, the Houston, Texas Police Department, and the Texas Attorney General's Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Theodore R. Carter, III and William Gibbens prosecuted the case.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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