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August 22, 2007
60 foreign national gang members arrested in ICE-led multi-agency operation
Enforcement action is largest local effort yet under Operation Community Shield
SAN DIEGO - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, in close partnership with local law enforcement officers, arrested 60 foreign nationals with ties to violent street gangs here during the past two weeks in the largest local dragnet yet carried out as part of ICE's Operation Community Shield.
Operation Community Shield is an ongoing nationwide initiative in which ICE is partnering with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to address the public safety threat posed by transnational gangs.
"Street gangs pose a growing public safety threat to communities throughout this area," said Serge Duarte, deputy special agent in charge for the ICE Office of Investigations in San Diego. "The violence, sophistication, and scope of these organizations have reached intolerable levels. This operation shows how ICE is working with its law enforcement partners to dismantle these criminal organizations and protect our communities.�
In addition to ICE, the enforcement effort, which concluded late Friday, involved the San Diego Sheriff's Department, the Escondido and Oceanside Police Departments, the San Diego County Probation Department, and the North County Regional Gang Task Force.
The multi-agency operation targeted foreign national gang members and gang associates in the north county communities of Vista, Oceanside, Escondido and San Marcos, where the majority of the arrests were made.
"Operation Community Shield is appropriately named, as the collaborative efforts of San Diego's law enforcement agencies have removed some of the most violent offenders from the street," commented San Diego Sheriff Bill Kolender. "Efforts will continue at all levels to ensure these street gangs aren't able to establish a foothold to grow and thrive."
Among those arrested by ICE agents during the past week was Felipe Casteñeda-Covarrubias, 31, a Mexican national whose criminal history includes prior convictions for a variety of drug charges. Casteñeda, who had a 9 mm pistol in his possession at the time of his arrest, is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office on weapons charges.
In addition to Casteñeda, 10 others arrested during the two-week operation are also being criminally prosecuted. Six are being prosecuted by the San Diego District Attorney's Office on state charges including drug and weapons violations; five are being prosecuted on federal charges, including weapons violations and re-entry after deportation.
In addition to the aliens with ties to violent street gangs, the multi-agency enforcement effort also resulted in the arrest of 68 other foreign nationals who are believed to be in the country illegally, including many with prior criminal convictions. Those individuals who are not facing criminal prosecution will be processed for removal from the United States. All of those taken into custody during the operation were from Mexico.
Since Operation Community Shield was launched in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 4,900 gang members and associates who belong to more than 500 different street gangs. Those taken into custody include approximately 1,300 individuals arrested on criminal charges and more than 3,600 subjects arrested on administrative immigration violations. Locally, ICE agents in San Diego have made more than 270 arrests since the initiative's inception.
-- ICE --
