News Releases

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending Feb. 11, 2011

Feb. 10, 2011 – ICE agents return more than $58,000 to victim of telemarketing fraud

Fraudulent telemarketers often instruct their victims to pay for service charges, federal or provincial taxes, customs duties, handling, insurance or other charges. This week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents returned $58,000 to an elderly individual who was conned into paying fees and service charges to collect fictitious lottery winnings. Full Story

Feb. 10, 2011 - Members of Staten Island narcotics distribution network arrested on federal drug and firearm charges

ICE HSI agents conducted an investigation with representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the New York Police Department that uncovered a crack and cocaine distribution network based in Staten Island, NY. The defendants allegedly sold wholesale and retail quantities of crack and powder cocaine in Staten Island over the past 10 years and used violence to protect their trafficking operations. Full Story

Feb. 10, 2011 - 6 charged in Wisconsin with producing false identity documents

Six individuals, including a former state employee, have been charged with conspiring to illegally produce and transfer identification documents. Allegedly, the defendants supplied nearly 70 illegal aliens with Wisconsin driver's licenses in exchange for a cash payment. Full Story

Feb. 8, 2011 – Federal jury convicts Gateway Hotel owner of smuggling, harboring illegal aliens

Song U. Chon, the president and owner of the Gateway Hotel, was found guilty of conspiring and devising a plan to smuggle hundreds of illegal aliens into the United States from Mexico, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia. He harbored them in El Paso, Texas using the Gateway Hotel and other locations. Full Story

Feb. 8, 2011 – ICE part of unprecedented, multi-agency effort securing border in Arizona

In 2009, ICE joined forces with several government agencies to form the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats (ACTT). ACTT combats the illicit flow of guns, money, drugs and criminals in both directions across the Southwest border. The results speak volumes. To date, ACTT has seized millions of pounds of illegal drugs and hundreds weapons and apprehended about 270,000 individuals between ports of entry. Full Story