NewzIntel.com

Category: Security Intelligence

  • MIL-OSI Security: Worcester Gang Associate Sentenced for Firearms Dealing, Possession of a Machinegun and Cocaine Distribution

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Defendant sold five firearms while on state pretrial release for charges including possessing large capacity weapon and assault and battery

    BOSTON – A former Worcester resident with known ties to the Eastside gang in Worcester was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for firearms offenses and distributing cocaine.

    Juan Otero, 23, a/k/a “Nene” or “Blockz,” of Franklin, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 72 months in prison and five years of supervised release. In February 2025, Otero pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license; one count of receiving a firearm while under indictment; one count of possession of a machinegun; and one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine. Otero was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024.

    In late August 2023, a cooperating witness working with federal law enforcement made contact with Otero via Snapchat about purchasing cocaine from the defendant. Subsequently, Otero sold the cooperating witness a total of 14 grams of cocaine over two separate occasions, on Nov. 15, 2023 and Dec. 6, 2023. Prior to the second drug sale, on Nov. 27, 2023, Otero also sold the cooperating witness a Taurus 9 mm pistol with an obliterated serial number, ammunition and a 17- round magazine.

    Then, over a 12-day period in January 2025, Otero sold four additional firearms to the cooperating witnesses: a Colt MK IV Series 80 .45 caliber pistol, ammunition and a large capacity .45 caliber magazine on Jan. 11, 2025; a Walther PPK 9mm Kurz caliber pistol, a Ruger Security Six .357 caliber revolver with a defaced serial number, ammunition and a magazine on Jan. 17, 2025; and a Glock 30S .45 caliber pistol with a machinegun conversion device attached to the back, a 40- round drum magazine and two additional magazines loaded with ammunition on Jan. 23, 2025.

    In addition to the five pistols Otero sold, he offered to sell the cooperating witness additional firearms – including a different Glock pistol, a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber, a Walther .22 caliber, a different Taurus pistol and an AR-style rifle.

    At the time of the offenses, Otero was on release pending trial for state firearm charges. Specifically, in 2022, Otero was indicted in Worcester Superior Court for multiple state crimes, including the unlawful possession of a large capacity weapon, unlawful possession of a loaded firearm, unlawful possession of a large capacity firearm and ammunition and attempted assault and battery.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Scott Riordan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Feld Division; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Paul Saucier, Chief of the Worcester Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Franklin, Mansfield and Auburn Police Departments.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/PSN. 
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Cherokee County Man Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison for Sex Trafficking Teens

    Source: US FBI

    TYLER, Texas – A Jacksonville man has been sentenced to life in federal prison for sex trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

    Desnique Deshawn Herndon, 28, was sentenced to seven life sentences by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on June 18, 2025.  In 2023, Herndon was convicted by a jury of six counts of sex trafficking of children and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children following a five-day trial before Judge Barker.  Herndon remained in custody between the time of trial and sentencing.

    “Victimizing children through commercial sex trafficking is reprehensible and will be prosecuted vigorously in East Texas,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.  “We will not stand by and watch the lives of young people ruined by predators like Herndon to satisfy the wanton interests of commercial sex customers. Herndon’s life sentence demonstrates our society’s intolerance for such callous disregard for others. I want to thank our many law enforcement partners for their diligent work on this case.”

    “Sex trafficking is one of the most appalling crimes in our society, exploiting the most vulnerable among us. HSI remains committed to identifying traffickers, dismantling their criminal networks, and providing critical support to survivors,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard. “Through our victim-centered investigations, we will spare no resource to protect communities and seek justice for those victimized by this modern-day slavery. “

    According to information presented in court, beginning in 2019, Herndon engaged in trafficking multiple teenage girls for commercial sex acts. Herndon recruited the girls by social media, deceived them by promising riches, and placed them in hotels in the Tyler area.  He then posted advertisements on sex trafficking websites showing explicit photos of the girls and offering commercial sex acts. Some of Herndon’s victims were as young as 13 years old. During trial, jurors heard testimony that Herndon used co-conspirators to continue to run his operation while he was in jail so that the victims could earn money to pay his bond.

    Three of Herndon’s co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the offenses. Malcolm Kadeem Roberts, 29, of Tyler, was sentenced on November 16, 2023, to over 12 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children.  Roberts was also sentenced to 75 years in state prison in Smith County District Court for aggravated sexual assault of a child charges in relation to one of the minor victims in this case.  Tavarus D. Watkins, 29, of Jacksonville, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 16, 2023, for interstate transport of a minor for illegal sexual activity. Patrick Lamont Cross, Jr, 28, of Palestine, pleaded guilty on August 22, 2022, to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children.  Cross is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2025.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

    This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations’ Tyler Resident Agency, North Texas Trafficking Task Force, FBI Tyler Resident Agency, Texas DPS Criminal Investigations Division, Texas Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Unit, Tyler Police Department, Henderson County Sherriff’s Office, Cherokee County Sherriff’s Office, Jacksonville Police Department, Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Panola County Sheriff’s Office, Palestine Police Department, Abilene Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Locker and Alan Jackson, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Jiral.

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Orleans Man Guilty of Third Drug Trafficking Offense and Multiple Firearms Offenses

    Source: US FBI

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –ODINE DOMINICK (“DOMINICK”), age 34, a resident of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on June 10, 2025, the morning his jury trial was set to begin, before U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk to possession with the intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl and a quantity of marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), and 841(b)(1)(D); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i); and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8). 

    According to court documents, in the fall of 2023, law enforcement officers observed a photograph of DOMINICK with a rifle magazine in his waistband and a video of DOMINICK inside of a stolen car with a handgun.  On December 14, 2023, the New Orleans Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at DOMINICK’s residence and found over 100 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin; vacuum sealed bags of marijuana weighing over a kilogram; eight digital scales; drug trafficking supplies; 400 rounds of various calibers of ammunition; and a loaded Glock Model 23 .40 caliber handgun with an extended magazine.

    Prior to his most recent arrest, DOMINICK had already been convicted of conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in Orleans Parish, and being a felon in possesion of a firearm, in St. Bernard Parish.

    Because of his prior federal drug trafficking conviction, DOMINICK was charged with a sentencing enhancement.  As to Count 1, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, up to an $8,000,000 fine, and at least eight years of supervised release.  As to Count 2, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to life in prison, which must run consecutively to all other sentences, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release.  As to Count 3, he faces up to 15 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.  Each count also carries a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Missouri Man Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Travelling to Louisiana to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with 12-Year-Old Female

    Source: US FBI

    NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that ERIC CHARLES FULLER (“FULLER”), age 55, from Springfield, Missouri, was sentenced on June 10, 2025 by United States District Judge Greg Gerard Guidry to 57 months in prison, after previously pleading guilty to interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(b).  Additionally, Judge Guidry ordered FULLER to serve five (5) years of supervised release after imprisonment, register as a sex offender, and pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

    According to the court documents, on or about December 7, 2023, law enforcement personnel, operating online in an undercover capacity and pretending to be a twenty-nine-year-old mother with a twelve-year-old daughter, met FULLER on a social network and messaging application.  Over approximately the next month, on numerous occasions FULLER discussed his interest in engaging in various sexual acts with the “mother” and daughter,” culminating in FULLER making arrangements to travel from his residence in Springfield, Missouri, to the New Orleans area to engage in sexual contact, individually and collectively, with the “mother” and “daughter.”  During his conversation FULLER described the contact he anticipated as “highly taboo,” “highly illegal,” “risky,” “not the worst way to be,” and “a way to have a happier life.”  FULLER left Springfield, in his red, 2002 Chevrolet Prism, on about January 11, 2024, and arrived at a predetermined location in Mandeville, Louisiana on Friday, January 12, 2024, for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with the individual FULLER believed to be a twelve-year-old female.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, was in charge of the prosecution.

               

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Orleans Man Guilty of Being Felon in Possession of Firearms Stemming from New Orleans East Shooting

    Source: US FBI

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced today that DANTRELL MCZEAL (“MCZEAL”), age 34, a resident of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on May 27, 2025 to being a felon in possession of firearms, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).  MCZEAL faces a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen (15) years, a fine of up to $250,000.00, a period of supervised release of up to 3 years, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.

    The Honorable District Judge Darrel James Papillion will sentence MCZEAL on September 9, 2025.

    According to court documents, in July 2022, MCZEAL and an unknown individual, were involved in a shootout with each other in the parking lot of a gas station located on the corner of Downman Road and Morrison Road in New Orleans.  MCZEAL was shot in the leg during the gunfire exchange and the unknown individual fled in his vehicle.  MCZEAL also fled, but lost control of his vehicle, and struck a light pole.  MCZEAL was observed limping away from his vehicle while in possession of a firearm.

    New Orleans Police Department officers later recovered a Glock Model 30GEN4, .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol from inside MCZEAL’s vehicle.  While on the scene, officers also observed a trail of blood outside of the vehicle leading to a nearby residence.  Later, officers received a call from a nearby resident stating that an unknown male, later identified as MCZEAL, had entered her residence.  The resident reported that MCZEAL had a firearm, later determined to be a Palmetto State Armory Model PA-15, .223 REM/5.56 x 45 milli-meter semi-automatic rifle.  Federal law prohibits convicted felons, such as MCZEAL , from possessing firearms.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Reed of the Violent Crime Unit.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: First Sentencing in Burglary of Dozens of Firearms from Maryland Pawn Shop

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

                WASHINGTON – Juwon Markel Anderson, 22, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 84 months in federal prison for his role in the December 2023 burglary of a Maryland pawn shop that netted dozens of firearms and for his subsequent attempt to sell several of the stolen guns.

                The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.   

                Anderson, aka “Peezy,” pleaded guilty on March 4, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking. In addition to the prison term, Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Anderson to serve three years of supervised release.

                According to the court documents, on Dec. 13, 2023, Anderson and at least four co-conspirators drove in two vehicles from the District to the A&D Pawn Shop, a Federal Firearms Licensee, in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

                At the pawn shop, one of the co-conspirators used a portable saw to cut the locks on a pull-down security gate. Another co-conspirator then used a crowbar-type tool to pry open the main door. Once inside, the quintet grabbed an array of rifles, shotguns, and pistols from the shelves and display racks. They fled with at least 34 guns. Two days after the burglary, on December 15, 2023, Anderson was arrested with two of the stolen firearms. He has been detained ever since.

                Co-defendant Tyjuan McNeal, 27, is scheduled to be sentenced July 1 for conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking. Vincent Lee Alston, 23, and Niquan Odum, 23, pleaded guilty March 6, 2025. Alston, aka “Vedo,” pleaded to one count of conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking. Cy’juan Hemsley, who pleaded guilty on May 7, 2025, and Odumn, aka “Stickz,” pleaded to conspiracy to commit theft from a firearms licensee and to possession of stolen firearms.

                This case is being investigated by the ATF Washington Field Division and the Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the ATF Baltimore Field Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar with valuable assistance from former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Lipes.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Southern District of Texas charges 215 people in third week of June in relation to border enforcement efforts

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    HOUSTON – A total of 204 new cases have been filed in the last week related to immigration, border security and related offenses from June 13-19, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

    Among those are 65 people who face charges of illegally reentering the country. The majority have prior felony convictions for narcotics, violent crime, prior immigration crimes and more. A total of 125 people are charged with illegally entering the country, while five cases allege various instances of human smuggling with the remainder involving other immigration crimes and more, including assault on officers.

    Two such charged include Adrian Alberto Castillo-Contador and Lorenzo Ramirez. Castillo-Contador, a Mexican national, allegedly attempted to make entry into the United States through the Hidalgo port of entry. The charges allege he failed to comply with commands and attempted to evade a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. Castillo-Contador allegedly pushed the officer and caused injury but was apprehended before able to exit.

    In another case, authorities allegedly found Lorenzo Ramirez near an abandoned vehicle after a failed smuggling event near Weslaco. The criminal complaint alleges that as a Border Patrol (BP) agent approached him, Ramirez fled, and a foot chase ensued. Law enforcement caught him, but during the struggle, Ramirez punched and elbowed the agent in the thigh and head, respectively, according to the charges. Ramirez also allegedly kicked another agent in the leg. The charges further allege authorities had to taser him. Both men face up to eight years in federal prison if convicted for assaulting an officer.

    Also part of the new cases are several complaints alleging previous felons had illegally reentered the United States. Mexican nationals Ivan Edgar Martinez, Carlos Bartolo Santiago-Hernandez and Hugo Jimenez-Castillo had all been previously removed from the country on various dates between 2017-2014, acceding to their respective charges. However, all were allegedly found in the Rio Grande Valley area this week. Martinez and Santiago-Hernandez have convictions for illegal reentry, while Jimenez-Castillo had been sentenced to two years in prison for his driving while intoxicated conviction, according to the allegations. If convicted, all face up to 20 years in prison.

    Throughout the district, law enforcement partners made multiple arrests, including nearly two dozen charged in large drug and money laundering operation. Grand juries in Houston and McAllen returned the five separate, but related indictments in May. The charges allegedly involve cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine trafficking, firearms-related offenses and money laundering. The arrests are the culmination of multiple months-long Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigations dubbed Operation Red Ranger, Borrowed Time and Resurrection. During the investigation and operations, law enforcement also seized over 170 kilograms of cocaine and heroin, over two thousand kilograms methamphetamine, more than 100 firearms and nearly $3 million as well as four properties valued at $1.2 million.

    In Laredo, two cartel firearms traffickers have now been sent to federal prison. Mexican national Jorge Alberto Morales-Calvo received a 41-month-term, while Homero Arteaga Jr. previously received 57 months. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that the firearms were going to be smuggled across the border and delivered to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. On Sept. 18, 2024, they planned to purchase a Barrett .50 caliber rifle for $15,000 and a FN Herstal Belgium, 5.7 x 28 caliber pistol with a large capacity magazine for $850. They were both arrested as they tried to complete the transaction.

    “The Department of Justice is looking to hit the cartels from every angle and at every opportunity, which includes vigorously prosecuting not just the members of these terror groups, but those that enable them as well,” said Ganjei. “Those that arm or otherwise empower the cartels are going to the meet the full force of the federal criminal justice system.”

    In Corpus Christi, an Arkansas man was ordered to prison for 36 months for transporting illegal aliens in wheel well and fuel tank. The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes following a less than two-day trial before finding Noel Mercado guilty on two counts of alien smuggling March 11. At the sentencing hearing, the court noted the egregious crime and said the smuggled individuals had been “treated like trash.” All the illegal aliens were from the countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala with no authority to be in the United States.

    “As we continue our successful campaign to secure the border, human smugglers are going to get increasingly desperate,” said Ganjei. “No matter how creative they think they are in their methods, our law enforcement partners are always one step ahead.”

    A Laredo felon was also sentenced for transporting illegal aliens. Braulio Ivan Rueda was ordered to serve 21 months after he had engaged in a high-speed chase. Rueda picked up several people running from the Rio Grande River into his SUV. When authorities tried to block the vehicle, four Guatemalan nationals fled towards the river. Rueda sped away and led authorities on a three-mile chase before stopping in a commercial parking lot and attempted to escape on foot. He admitted he needed money and agreed to smuggle the aliens for “easy money.”

    Also in Laredo, Anthony Jacob Garza was suspiciously driving a Ford Expedition about 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in April. He admitted he stopped at a gas station, where authorities ultimately found three illegal aliens hiding under a blanket in the SUV’s cargo area. He had picked them up near a county road. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

    Two Mexican nationals and convicted felons, one who had previously assaulted public servant, are on their way back to prison for illegal reentry into the country. Abelino Hernandez-Torres was ordered to serve 60 months. He has prior convictions for illegal reentry as well as evading arrest with a motor vehicle and assault on a public servant. He was first ordered removed from the United States in 2015 and again in 2019 and 2020, and returned illegally.

    Authorities had encountered Hector Ruben Cardenas-Morales in jail following charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful restraint. He has other convictions, including burglary, evading arrest with a motor vehicle and illegal reentry and was last removed in 2023. At the sentencing hearing, the court noted how this was his fifth time coming back and was not serving himself by returning to the country or learning from his mistakes, stating “Sir, you have no future in the United States.” He was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison.

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations, ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, BP, CBP, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s OCDTF and Project Safe Neighborhood.

    Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.  

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes. 

    An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: ICYMI: ICE Agents Now Face a 500% Increase in Assaults Against Them

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    DHS releases new data highlighting the dangers brave federal law enforcement faces while protecting and serving American communities

    WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released new statistics on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facing a 500% increase in assaults against them while carrying out immigration enforcement operations.

    “The Department of Homeland Security released new data revealing ICE law enforcement is now facing a 500% increase in assaults against them while carrying out enforcement operations. Just this week, an ICE officer was dragged 50 yards by a car while arresting an illegal alien sex offender,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Every day the men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens. Make no mistake, Democrat politicians like Hakeem Jeffries, Mayor Wu of Boston, Governor Tim Walz, and Mayor Bass of Los Angeles are contributing to the surge in assaults of our ICE officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE. From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi Gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is despicable. This violence against ICE must end.”

    Disturbingly, in recent days, ICE officers’ family members have been doxed and targeted as well. Those who dox our ICE agents will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

    Secretary Noem’s message is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Coast Guard stops illegal charter operation near Anna Maria Island

    Source: United States Coast Guard

    U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 06/20/2025 02:30 PM EDT

     

    06/20/2025 02:02 PM EDT

    CLEARWATER, Fla. — A Coast Guard Station Cortez law enforcement crew terminated an illegal charter operating on the Intracoastal Waterway near Anna Maria Island, Thursday.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Co-Founder of Los Cuinis Drug Cartel Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison; High-Ranking Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) Operative Pleads Guilty

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Today, a Mexican national and the co-founder of the armed, violent, and prolific Los Cuinis drug cartel was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in a major drug trafficking conspiracy. 

    According to court documents, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia, 49, of Michoacan, Mexico, was one of the top leaders — alongside his brothers, Gerardo Gonzalez-Valencia and Abigael Gonzalez-Valencia — of Los Cuinis, a major Mexican drug cartel responsible for trafficking multiple tons of cocaine from South America, through Mexico, into the United States. Los Cuinis financed the founding and growth of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), which traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States and other countries, and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture, and corruption.

    In February 2025, President Trump designated CJNG a foreign terrorist organization. According to court documents, the top leader of CJNG, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” is the brother-in-law of the Gonzalez-Valencia brothers. Closely allied, Los Cuinis and CJNG form one of the most violent and prolific transnational criminal organizations in the world, responsible for sending staggering amounts of drugs into the United States and inflicting extreme violence to further that objective.

    Also today, as part of the Department of Justice’s focus on dismantling CJNG, another Mexican national, Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, also known as “El Guacho,” a high-ranking CJNG member and El Mencho’s son-in-law, pleaded guilty to one count of international money laundering conspiracy.

    “Today, the Criminal Division dealt two more devastating blows to CJNG and Los Cuinis through the sentencing of Jose Gonzalez-Valencia and the conviction of Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These men and the cartels they led are responsible for immeasurable death and destruction in the United States and Mexico. The Justice Department will continue to dismantle CJNG, Los Cuinis and all other transnational criminal organizations that flood our streets with dangerous drugs and engage in extreme violence to control their operations.”

    “CJNG is one of the most powerful, influential, and ruthless criminal organizations to threaten our public safety and national security. Each leader and associate of CJNG who faces justice within the United States brings us one step closer to dismantling this terrorist organization,” said Acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Robert Murphy. “DEA will continue to use all available resources to disrupt CJNG’s drug trafficking and money laundering operations and systematically destroy their network.”

    From at least 2006 to 2016, according to court documents, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia directed and coordinated numerous multi-ton shipments of cocaine destined for the United States using air, land, sea, and underwater methods. In 2007 the U.S. Coast Guard seized one shipment from a semi-submersible vessel that was transporting at least 4,000 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico for further distribution into the United States.

    As one of Los Cuinis’ top leaders, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia directed acts of extreme violence in furtherance of drug trafficking activities, including the murder of an individual who allegedly stole a shipment of approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from Los Cuinis, according to court documents. Jose Gonzalez-Valencia personally carried firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities and supplied weapons and ammunition to the CJNG.

    In 2015, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia went into hiding in Bolivia — a country that did not extradite anyone to the United States from 2001 to 2023, despite an existing extradition treaty — and resided there for over two years under a fictitious identity. In 2017, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia was arrested in Brazil while on vacation and was subsequently extradited to the United States. Brazil’s extradition treaty required that the U.S. Government not recommend more than a 30-year sentence.

    Pursuant to his plea agreement, Gutierrez-Ochoa admitted that he was a member of CJNG who was connected to CJNG’s top leadership. He also admitted that from at least 2023 until his arrest in 2024, he and other CJNG operatives used sophisticated money laundering methods involving real estate transactions, shell companies, and international money transfers to launder CJNG’s drug trafficking proceeds. For example, Gutierrez-Ochoa and others completed two wire transfers totaling $1.2 million of CJNG’s drug proceeds to purchase a luxury residence in Riverside, California, titled in the name of a Mexican entity owned and controlled by CJNG. When Gutierrez-Ochoa was arrested in November 2024, he was living at that property under a fictitious identity and possessed two untraceable and illegal firearms, approximately $2.2 million of CJNG’s drug proceeds, and numerous luxury items purchased with CJNG’s drug proceeds, including jewelry, watches, and vehicles.

    Gutierrez-Ochoa is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 7 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Today’s sentencing of Gonzalez-Valencia and conviction of Gutierrez-Ochoa follow several recent strikes into CJNG’s most inner circle.

    El Mencho’s older brother, Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, and Erick Valencia Salazar, an alleged co-founder of CJNG and El Mencho’s close advisor, were among the 29 wanted cartel leaders taken into U.S. custody on Feb. 27, 2025.

    Shortly after, on March 7, 2025, El Mencho’s son, Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez, known as El Menchito, was sentenced to a term of life in prison plus 30 years to run consecutively and ordered to forfeit over $6 billion in drug trafficking proceeds. Before his arrest, Oseguera-Gonzalez was CJNG’s second-in-command and led CJNG for nearly seven years. He is responsible for trafficking more than 50 metric tons of cocaine and supervising drug labs that produced more than 1,000 metric tons of methamphetamine in Mexico. In 2013, he was one of the first contributors to the fentanyl epidemic in the United States, pledging to “do it big” and build an empire from counterfeit oxycontin pills laced with fentanyl. As the evidence at trial showed, he also committed heinous acts of violence. According to statements made in court and trial testimony, Oseguera-Gonzalez ordered the murder of more than 100 people, some of whom he murdered himself.

    The DEA and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section have been systematically dismantling the leadership of the CJNG and Los Cuinis at the highest level. To date, the ongoing investigation has led to indictments of approximately 30 high-value CJNG and Los Cuinis command-and-control targets, including seven Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs), the top drug trafficking command-and-control leaders. As of June 2025, 12 defendants have been convicted, including two at trial.

    A number of indicted leaders of CJNG and Los Cuinis remain fugitives, including El Mencho, whose capture reward was recently increased to $15 million under the State Department’s Narcotic Rewards Program. Abigael Gonzalez-Valencia, another top leader of Los Cuinis and El Mencho’s brother-in-law, was arrested in 2015 by Mexican authorities pursuant to the U.S. indictment but since then has been fighting extradition to the United States.

    The DEA Los Angeles Field Division investigated the cases. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance with obtaining foreign evidence and securing Jose Gonzalez-Valencia’s extradition to the United States.

    Trial Attorneys Lernik Begian, Gwen Stamper, and Douglas Meisel of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the cases.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Co-Founder of Los Cuinis Drug Cartel Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison; High-Ranking Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) Operative Pleads Guilty

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Today, a Mexican national and the co-founder of the armed, violent, and prolific Los Cuinis drug cartel was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in a major drug trafficking conspiracy. 

    According to court documents, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia, 49, of Michoacan, Mexico, was one of the top leaders — alongside his brothers, Gerardo Gonzalez-Valencia and Abigael Gonzalez-Valencia — of Los Cuinis, a major Mexican drug cartel responsible for trafficking multiple tons of cocaine from South America, through Mexico, into the United States. Los Cuinis financed the founding and growth of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), which traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States and other countries, and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture, and corruption.

    In February 2025, President Trump designated CJNG a foreign terrorist organization. According to court documents, the top leader of CJNG, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” is the brother-in-law of the Gonzalez-Valencia brothers. Closely allied, Los Cuinis and CJNG form one of the most violent and prolific transnational criminal organizations in the world, responsible for sending staggering amounts of drugs into the United States and inflicting extreme violence to further that objective.

    Also today, as part of the Department of Justice’s focus on dismantling CJNG, another Mexican national, Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, also known as “El Guacho,” a high-ranking CJNG member and El Mencho’s son-in-law, pleaded guilty to one count of international money laundering conspiracy.

    “Today, the Criminal Division dealt two more devastating blows to CJNG and Los Cuinis through the sentencing of Jose Gonzalez-Valencia and the conviction of Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These men and the cartels they led are responsible for immeasurable death and destruction in the United States and Mexico. The Justice Department will continue to dismantle CJNG, Los Cuinis and all other transnational criminal organizations that flood our streets with dangerous drugs and engage in extreme violence to control their operations.”

    “CJNG is one of the most powerful, influential, and ruthless criminal organizations to threaten our public safety and national security. Each leader and associate of CJNG who faces justice within the United States brings us one step closer to dismantling this terrorist organization,” said Acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Robert Murphy. “DEA will continue to use all available resources to disrupt CJNG’s drug trafficking and money laundering operations and systematically destroy their network.”

    From at least 2006 to 2016, according to court documents, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia directed and coordinated numerous multi-ton shipments of cocaine destined for the United States using air, land, sea, and underwater methods. In 2007 the U.S. Coast Guard seized one shipment from a semi-submersible vessel that was transporting at least 4,000 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico for further distribution into the United States.

    As one of Los Cuinis’ top leaders, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia directed acts of extreme violence in furtherance of drug trafficking activities, including the murder of an individual who allegedly stole a shipment of approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from Los Cuinis, according to court documents. Jose Gonzalez-Valencia personally carried firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities and supplied weapons and ammunition to the CJNG.

    In 2015, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia went into hiding in Bolivia — a country that did not extradite anyone to the United States from 2001 to 2023, despite an existing extradition treaty — and resided there for over two years under a fictitious identity. In 2017, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia was arrested in Brazil while on vacation and was subsequently extradited to the United States. Brazil’s extradition treaty required that the U.S. Government not recommend more than a 30-year sentence.

    Pursuant to his plea agreement, Gutierrez-Ochoa admitted that he was a member of CJNG who was connected to CJNG’s top leadership. He also admitted that from at least 2023 until his arrest in 2024, he and other CJNG operatives used sophisticated money laundering methods involving real estate transactions, shell companies, and international money transfers to launder CJNG’s drug trafficking proceeds. For example, Gutierrez-Ochoa and others completed two wire transfers totaling $1.2 million of CJNG’s drug proceeds to purchase a luxury residence in Riverside, California, titled in the name of a Mexican entity owned and controlled by CJNG. When Gutierrez-Ochoa was arrested in November 2024, he was living at that property under a fictitious identity and possessed two untraceable and illegal firearms, approximately $2.2 million of CJNG’s drug proceeds, and numerous luxury items purchased with CJNG’s drug proceeds, including jewelry, watches, and vehicles.

    Gutierrez-Ochoa is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 7 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Today’s sentencing of Gonzalez-Valencia and conviction of Gutierrez-Ochoa follow several recent strikes into CJNG’s most inner circle.

    El Mencho’s older brother, Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, and Erick Valencia Salazar, an alleged co-founder of CJNG and El Mencho’s close advisor, were among the 29 wanted cartel leaders taken into U.S. custody on Feb. 27, 2025.

    Shortly after, on March 7, 2025, El Mencho’s son, Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez, known as El Menchito, was sentenced to a term of life in prison plus 30 years to run consecutively and ordered to forfeit over $6 billion in drug trafficking proceeds. Before his arrest, Oseguera-Gonzalez was CJNG’s second-in-command and led CJNG for nearly seven years. He is responsible for trafficking more than 50 metric tons of cocaine and supervising drug labs that produced more than 1,000 metric tons of methamphetamine in Mexico. In 2013, he was one of the first contributors to the fentanyl epidemic in the United States, pledging to “do it big” and build an empire from counterfeit oxycontin pills laced with fentanyl. As the evidence at trial showed, he also committed heinous acts of violence. According to statements made in court and trial testimony, Oseguera-Gonzalez ordered the murder of more than 100 people, some of whom he murdered himself.

    The DEA and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section have been systematically dismantling the leadership of the CJNG and Los Cuinis at the highest level. To date, the ongoing investigation has led to indictments of approximately 30 high-value CJNG and Los Cuinis command-and-control targets, including seven Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs), the top drug trafficking command-and-control leaders. As of June 2025, 12 defendants have been convicted, including two at trial.

    A number of indicted leaders of CJNG and Los Cuinis remain fugitives, including El Mencho, whose capture reward was recently increased to $15 million under the State Department’s Narcotic Rewards Program. Abigael Gonzalez-Valencia, another top leader of Los Cuinis and El Mencho’s brother-in-law, was arrested in 2015 by Mexican authorities pursuant to the U.S. indictment but since then has been fighting extradition to the United States.

    The DEA Los Angeles Field Division investigated the cases. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance with obtaining foreign evidence and securing Jose Gonzalez-Valencia’s extradition to the United States.

    Trial Attorneys Lernik Begian, Gwen Stamper, and Douglas Meisel of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the cases.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood. 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Haitian Mayor and Human Rights Violator Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Lying about Past Involvement in Political Violence

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Note: See indictment here.

    Jean Morose Viliena, the former Mayor of Les Irois, Haiti, was sentenced today to nine years in prison followed by three years of supervised release by Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV for the District of Massachusetts for possessing and using a Permanent Resident Card he had fraudulently obtained by falsely stating that he had not ordered, carried out, or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people. A federal jury convicted Viliena in March 2025 of three counts of visa fraud.

    “In Haiti, Jean Morose Viliena was involved in the violent killings, beatings, and assaults of whomever he believed threatened his power as mayor,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “His lies to U.S. immigration authorities allowed him to unlawfully enter this country and obtain lawful permanent resident status. Individuals who commit violent crimes in their home countries should take note: we do not tolerate human rights abusers who lie to take refuge here. We will find you, investigate you, and prosecute you to ensure that you are held accountable to the maximum extent of U.S. law for your heinous criminal conduct.”

    “Jean Morose Viliena built a life in the United States by burying the truth about his violent past – a past marked by political persecution, bloodshed and the silencing of dissent in Haiti,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “For more than a decade, he lived freely and comfortably in this country while the victims of his brutality lived in fear, exile and pain. Today’s sentence brings a measure of justice for the lives he shattered and sends a clear message: the United States will not be a safe haven for human rights abusers. Lying to gain entry into this country and then lying again under oath to avoid accountability strikes at the heart of our immigration and legal systems. I commend the tremendous courage of the victims and witnesses who stood up and spoke the truth despite the risks and made this outcome possible.”

    “Today’s sentencing underscores the commitment of Homeland Security Investigations to ensuring that individuals who commit heinous acts of violence and fraud are held accountable, regardless of where those crimes were committed,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England. “Jean Morose Viliena’s actions were not only a gross violation of human rights but also a betrayal of the trust placed in him by his community. HSI will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to bring justice to victims and protect the American people from foreign criminals seeking to escape justice in their home countries.”

    Viliena, 53, was the Mayor of Les Irois, Haiti, from December 2006 until February 2010. As a candidate and as mayor, Viliena was backed by Korega, a political machine that used armed violence to exert power throughout the southwestern region of Haiti. Viliena personally supervised his mayoral staff and other armed supporters aligned with Korega and directed them to engage in armed violence to quash opposition to his authority.

    According to evidence presented at trial, on July 27, 2007, Viliena violently retaliated against an activist who had previously spoken at a judicial proceeding on behalf of a neighbor whom Viliena had assaulted. In a brutal act of reprisal, that evening, Viliena led an armed group to the activist’s home, where Viliena and his associates shot and killed the activist’s younger brother and then smashed the brother’s skull with a large rock before a crowd of bystanders.

    Viliena committed another act of violent retribution in April 2008, when he and his associates attacked community members who had founded a radio station that Viliena opposed. According to multiple witnesses’ testimony, Viliena mobilized armed members of his staff and supporters to forcibly shut down the radio station and seize its broadcasting equipment. Viliena distributed firearms to his men, some of whom also carried machetes and picks. According to the evidence presented at trial, during this incident, Viliena beat one man and ordered an associate to shoot him when he tried to flee. As a result, the man’s leg was later amputated above the knee. Viliena also beat a student who was at the radio station; when the student tried to flee, a bullet struck his face, leaving him permanently blind in one eye.

    Less than two months after the radio station attack, Viliena presented himself at the U.S. Embassy Consular Office in Port au Prince, Haiti, where he applied for a visa to enter the United States. The visa application specifically requires an applicant to state whether they are a member of any class of individuals excluded from admission into the United States, including those who have “ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people.” Viliena falsely responded “no,” indicating that this category did not apply to him. Viliena thereafter swore to and affirmed before a U.S. Consular Officer that the contents of the application were true and signed the application.

    Based on Viliena’s false representations, the United States approved his visa application and permitted him to enter the country. The United States later granted Viliena lawful permanent resident status and a Permanent Resident Card, also known as a “Green Card.” For years, through the use of his fraudulently obtained Green Card, Viliena enjoyed a job; sufficient income; a comfortable home; a safe community; the ability to visit his family in Les Irois at any time; and the privilege of raising and educating a son who is now a U.S. citizen by birth.

    The HSI Boston Field Office investigated the case, with coordination provided by the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC). Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. Invaluable assistance was also provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection from Boston Logan Airport.

    Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura J. Kaplan for the District of Massachusetts prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Dr. Christopher Hayden.

    Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: HUMAN TRAFFICKING CONSPIRACY SPANNING FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND SOUTHERN ALABAMA DISMANTLED

    Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

    TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Kimberly Robinson Gandy, 47, of Gulfport, Mississippi, was found guilty on Wednesday afternoon, June 18, 2025, by a federal jury, of: Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; and Money Laundering. Her codefendant, Chad Cornelius Seymore, 49, of Dothan, Alabama, pled as charged, on Monday, June 9, 2025, immediately prior to the scheduled trial, to: Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; Receiving Benefits From Sex Trafficking; Interstate Travel In Aid of Racketeering; and Money Laundering. The guilty plea and verdict were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

    U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners who investigated this case, and the tenacious work of the federal prosecutors and support staff in my office, we have dismantled this sex trafficking conspiracy and obtained justice on behalf of its victims.  My office is committed to fulfilling the promise of President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to aggressively prosecute those who prey upon and profit from human trafficking victims. This outcome is a testament to the outstanding collaborative work of the Capital City Human Trafficking Task Force.”

    Court documents reflect that over a four-year period Seymore conspired with others to bond adult women out of county jail and then force them to commit commercial sex acts in Alabama and North Florida. Seymore recruited women suffering from drug addictions at hotels and through online advertisements. He threatened and physically abused his sex trafficking victims.  Gandy conspired with Seymore to traffic women in Panama City Beach and Destin. They used online money exchange platforms to transfer funds received from commercial sex acts.  

    Sentencing for Chad Seymore is scheduled for August 15, 2025, at 2:00 p.m.  Kim Gandy will be sentenced on September 15, 2025, at 1:30 p.m.   The defendants will be sentenced at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before Chief United States District Judge Alan C. Winsor.

    The convictions were the result of a joint investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dothan, Alabama Police Department, the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Panama City Police Department, with assistance from the United States Marshal’s Service, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama. The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Spaven.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: HUMAN TRAFFICKING CONSPIRACY SPANNING FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND SOUTHERN ALABAMA DISMANTLED

    Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

    TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Kimberly Robinson Gandy, 47, of Gulfport, Mississippi, was found guilty on Wednesday afternoon, June 18, 2025, by a federal jury, of: Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; and Money Laundering. Her codefendant, Chad Cornelius Seymore, 49, of Dothan, Alabama, pled as charged, on Monday, June 9, 2025, immediately prior to the scheduled trial, to: Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; Receiving Benefits From Sex Trafficking; Interstate Travel In Aid of Racketeering; and Money Laundering. The guilty plea and verdict were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

    U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners who investigated this case, and the tenacious work of the federal prosecutors and support staff in my office, we have dismantled this sex trafficking conspiracy and obtained justice on behalf of its victims.  My office is committed to fulfilling the promise of President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to aggressively prosecute those who prey upon and profit from human trafficking victims. This outcome is a testament to the outstanding collaborative work of the Capital City Human Trafficking Task Force.”

    Court documents reflect that over a four-year period Seymore conspired with others to bond adult women out of county jail and then force them to commit commercial sex acts in Alabama and North Florida. Seymore recruited women suffering from drug addictions at hotels and through online advertisements. He threatened and physically abused his sex trafficking victims.  Gandy conspired with Seymore to traffic women in Panama City Beach and Destin. They used online money exchange platforms to transfer funds received from commercial sex acts.  

    Sentencing for Chad Seymore is scheduled for August 15, 2025, at 2:00 p.m.  Kim Gandy will be sentenced on September 15, 2025, at 1:30 p.m.   The defendants will be sentenced at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before Chief United States District Judge Alan C. Winsor.

    The convictions were the result of a joint investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dothan, Alabama Police Department, the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Panama City Police Department, with assistance from the United States Marshal’s Service, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama. The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Spaven.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Members Of Drug Conspiracy Distributing Fentanyl And Methamphetamine Are Sentenced To Prison

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two members of a drug conspiracy that distributed fentanyl and methamphetamine were sentenced to prison yesterday, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Ashton Durrell Farley, 32, of Hickory, N.C., was sentenced to 235 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Thomas Eugene Ikard, 46, of Lenoir, N.C., was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Farley and Ikard pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

    U.S. Attorney Ferguson is joined in making the announcement by Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, Sheriff Donald G. Brown II of the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Reed Baer of the Hickory Police Department.

    Two other members of the drug conspiracy were previously sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. Dustin Eric Wilson, 35, of Charlotte was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Harold Marquis Wilfong, 37, of Hickory, was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

    According to court documents and court proceedings, federal charges were filed against the defendants following a 10-month investigation led by the ATF and the Hickory Police Department (HPD), aimed at reducing drug distribution and drug-induced criminal activity in Catawba County and surrounding areas. The drug trafficking ring operated out of Hickory and distributed large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the area. To identify the drug conspirators and their operations, ATF agents and HPD officers utilized controlled drug purchases, conducted physical surveillance, and executed search warrants. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that members of the drug ring used several residences either as “stash houses” to store drugs and/or guns, or to conduct drug sales and other drug trafficking activities. One of the alleged stash houses was located two blocks from the federal courthouse in Charlotte.

    According to court records, during the investigation, law enforcement seized multiple kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana. Law enforcement also seized multiple firearms used by some of the traffickers to support their drug distribution, including an AR-15 rifle and a privately made firearm or “ghost gun,” and ammunition.

    In making the announcement U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended the ATF, HPD, and the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office investigation of this case and thanked the U.S. Marshals Service for their invaluable assistance.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nearly 2 dozen charged in large drug and money laundering operation spanning multiple jurisdictions

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Operations Red Ranger, Borrowed Time, and Resurrection lead to seizure of drugs and millions in illicit proceeds

    HOUSTON – A total of 23 people are now in custody for various drug trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges following major law enforcement operations in Houston/Galveston and Rio Grande Valley areas of Texas this week, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Some of those arrested have already begun to make their appearances U.S. Magistrate Judges Christina Bryan in Houston, Andrew Edison in Galveston and Nadia Medrano in McAllen. Others are in state custody on related charges and expected in federal court in the near future. 

    Grand juries in Houston and McAllen returned the five separate, but related indictments in May. The charges allege crimes that occurred as early as January 2023 for some and between May 2024 and December 2024 for others and involve cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine trafficking, firearms-related offenses and money laundering.

    The charges allege some of the individuals were truck drivers delivering drugs north. According to information presented to the court, 10 kilograms of cocaine had been taken to Georgia and money returned to pay drivers and other expenses.

    The arrests are the culmination of multiple months-long Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigations dubbed Operation Red Ranger, Borrowed Time and Resurrection. During the investigation and operations, law enforcement also seized over 170 kilograms of cocaine and heroin, over two thousand kilograms methamphetamine, more than 100 firearms and nearly $3 million as well as four properties valued at $1.2 million.

    If convicted, many charged with drug trafficking offenses face up to life in federal prison and could pay millions in fines. Those charged with money laundering offenses face up to 20 years, while the firearms convictions carry up to 10 or 15 years in federal prison.

    The Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the OCDETF operations with the assistance of U.S. Marshals Service; Texas Department of Public Safety; sheriff’s offices in Fort Bend, Galveston, Chambers, Hidalgo, Harris and Kleberg counties; Texas Attorney General’s Office – Money Laundering Unit; West Tennessee Drug Task Force and police departments in Houston, Katy and Galveston as well as Houston and South Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area programs. 

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Leo III, Patricia Cook Profit, Michael Day and Roberto Lopez are prosecuting the cases.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhood.

    An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 116 Border-Related Cases the Week of June 13

    Source: US FBI

    SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 116 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

    In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

    A sample of border-related arrests this week:

    • On June 9, Alejandro Garcia Rivera and Angel Bel Tran Zamora, both Mexican citizens, were arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain and Aiding and Abetting after they were intercepted by the U.S. Coast guard off Point Loma as alleged captains of a smuggling boat; Gerardo Bejarano-Velazquez – who was also aboard the boat and had been previously deported to Mexico in 2018 in Nogales, Arizona – was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry After Deportation. Two other passengers were being held as material witnesses.
    • On June 10, 2025, Jose Pablo Lopez Lopez, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, when the defendant attempted to cross the border in his vehicle at the Tecate Port of Entry, Customs and Border Protection Officers found 113 packages containing 122 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the door panels, spare tire, firewall and passenger seats.
    • On June 10, Juan Moreno Morales, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, he tried to enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry aboard an ambulance. The defendant eventually admitted to using a bogus medical emergency as a scheme to enter the United States illegally. Moreno Morales was previously removed from the United States in 2000 and 2023.

    Also recently, a number of defendants with criminal records were convicted by a jury or sentenced for border-related crimes such as illegally re-entering the U.S. after previous deportation. Here are a few of those cases:

    • On June 9, Reymond Arias Valdez, a national of the Dominican Republic, who has multiple felony convictions for narcotics distribution in Massachusetts, was sentenced in federal court to 18 months in custody for illegally entering the U.S. In addition, Arias-Valdez has a previous felony unlawful reentry of a deported alien conviction from 2020.
    • On June 13, Carlos Fernando Gallegos-Camacho, a Mexican national who was previously convicted of being a deported alien found in the United States in 2022 and 2010, was sentenced in federal court to nine months in custody for again reentering the U.S. illegally.
    • On June 13, 2025, Monica Valdivia Ramirez, a Mexican national, was sentenced to 56 months in prison for importation of over 86,000 fentanyl pills into the United States, with an estimated street value of more than $800,000. She was found guilty by a federal jury in February.
    • On June 13, 2025, Francisco Luevano-Casillas – a Mexican national who was previously convicted of felony cocaine trafficking – was sentenced in federal court to 15 months in custody for illegally reentering the U.S. after deportation in May 2008. For the 2008 drug offense, Luevano-Casillas was sentenced to 96 months in prison.

    Pursuant to the Department’s Operation Take Back America priorities, federal law enforcement has focused immigration prosecutions on undocumented aliens who are engaged in criminal activity in the U.S., including those who commit drug and firearms crimes, who have serious criminal records, or who have active warrants for their arrest. Federal authorities have also been prioritizing investigations and prosecutions against drug, firearm, and human smugglers and those who endanger and threaten the safety of our communities and the law enforcement officers who protect the community.

    The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

    Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Largest Ever Seizure of Funds Related to Crypto Confidence Scams

    Source: US FBI

    United States Files Civil Forfeiture Complaint Against $225 Million in Funds Involved in Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Money Laundering

                WASHINGTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against more than $225.3 million in cryptocurrency. According to the complaint, the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI used blockchain analysis and other investigative techniques to determine that the cryptocurrency is connected to the theft and laundering of funds from victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, commonly referred to as cryptocurrency confidence scams.

                The civil action was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet of the San Francisco Field Office, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani of the San Francisco Field Office.

                The complaint alleges that the cryptocurrency addresses that held the over $225.3 million in cryptocurrency were part of a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network that executed hundreds of thousands of transactions and was used to conceal the nature, source, control, and ownership of proceeds derived from cryptocurrency investment fraud. The scam operators dispersed proceeds across an extensive group of cryptocurrency addresses and accounts on the blockchain to conceal the source of the illicitly obtained funds.

                As part of the investigation of the laundering network, dozens of victims across the country were confirmed to have lost funds through the belief that they were making legitimate cryptocurrency investments, with more than 400 suspected victims around the world. The complaint discussed millions of dollars in victim losses.

                “Under my leadership, with the support of President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia is taking a leading role in the fight against crypto-confidence scams, partnering with law enforcement throughout the country to seize and forfeit stolen funds and rip them from the hands of foreign criminals, all with the eye toward making victims whole,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro.

                “Today’s civil forfeiture complaint is the latest action taken by the Department to protect the American public from fraudsters specializing in cryptocurrency-based scams, and it will not be the last,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These schemes harm American victims, costing them billions of dollars every year, and undermine faith in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Our investigators and prosecutors are relentlessly pursuing these scammers and their ill-gotten gains, and we will relentlessly pursue recovery of victim funds.”

                “This seizure of $225.3 million in funds linked to cryptocurrency investment scams marks the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. Secret Service history,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet of the U.S. Secret Service’s San Francisco Field Office. “These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims. The U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and our private partners worked diligently to trace these illicit transactions, identify victims and seize these funds so that they can eventually be returned to their rightful owners.”

                “Cryptocurrency investment schemes can have devastating and long-lasting consequences for victims, far beyond just financial losses,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani of the San Francisco Field Office. “In this case, hundreds of victims lost millions of dollars to an elaborate scheme, and I commend the work of the FBI San Francisco investigative team and the United States Secret Service, San Francisco Office who worked tirelessly to return stolen assets to the victims. The FBI continues to aggressively pursue the criminals behind these heartless frauds, working alongside our federal partners and the private sector to disrupt malicious networks and recover funds for those targeted.”  

                According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, cryptocurrency investment fraud caused more than $5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone.

                This investigation is being handled by the U.S. Secret Service San Francisco Field Office and the FBI San Francisco Field Office. The Department of Justice thanks Tether for its proactive assistance in this investigation.

                This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Rosenberg and Rick Blaylock, Jr., of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorneys Stefanie Schwartz and Ethan Cantor of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).

                Members of the public who believe they are victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud and other cyber-enabled crime should contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov. If you believe you may be a victim of one of the scams alleged in the government’s complaint, add the code “BT06182025” in the narrative of your complaint, and if you have previously filed a related complaint, make note of the prior complaint in the narrative.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Waterbury Woman Pleads Guilty, Admits Multiple Fraud Schemes

    Source: US FBI

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARLENIN VITO, 46, of Waterbury, pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to an offense stemming from multiple fraud schemes.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Vito was employed as Medicaid Coordinator at an assisted living facility (“Company A”) located in Stamford.  Vito’s responsibilities included assisting the residents in applying for nursing home level Medicaid reimbursements, monitoring the residents’ patient trust accounts, and ensuring compliance with Medicaid regulations.  She was also responsible for keeping journal entries for the residents’ trust accounts and to credit their accounts when funds were received, and for debiting patient accounts when payments were made on behalf of the residents or when cash was given to residents for incidental expenses.

    Between approximately December 2019 and May 2021, Vito defrauded Company A and its residents by generating checks from Company A’s system, forging a fellow employee’s signature on the checks, negotiating the fraudulent checks purportedly to give the cash proceeds to certain residents, and keeping the cash for her own use.  Vito then made false entries into Company A’s accounting ledger by debiting the fraudulently obtained cash from the residents’ respective trust accounts.  Many of the residents were not healthy enough or mentally capable of tracking their own expenses or monitoring the balances of their own trust accounts.

    In certain instances, Vito cancelled residents’ supplemental health insurance coverage, but continued to deduct funds from the trust accounts and took the funds for herself.  Also, when certain residents’ trust accounts were credited with Economic Impact Payments (“COVID-19 stimulus payments”), Vito took the funds for herself and then debited the residents’ accounts at a rate of approximately $60 a day until the stimulus funds were depleted.

    During the scheme, Vito fraudulently negotiated approximately 500 checks, stealing approximately $310,820.  When she was confronted by family members of certain residents, Vito created and provided to those family members false account statements that misrepresented the balances in the residents’ trust accounts.

    After she was terminated by Company A, Vito obtained employment as a bookkeeper and scheduler at an alarm company (“Company B”) located in White Plains, New York.  Vito stole from the company by making false representations about overtime for herself and her daughter, and by using company funds to order more than $10,000 worth of products to be delivered to her Waterbury residence.  Company B was defrauded of approximately $23,558 through these schemes.

    After she was terminated by Company B, Vito was employed as a bookkeeper at a law firm in Hartford (“Company C”).  Vito took fraudulently generated checks drawn on Company C’s bank account and issued as “Pay to the Order of ‘Petty Cash, ’” forged the signature of an authorized employee on the checks, cashed the checks, and kept the funds for herself.  She then recorded the fraudulently negotiated checks in Company C’s books and records as “Petty Cash.”  Vito stole approximately $27,179 from Company C.

    Vito pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10.

    Vito is released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing.

    This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Stamford Police Department, Hartford Police Department, Ridgefield Police Department, and the Putnam County (N.Y.) Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. McGarry and Nathan J. Guevremont.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle to visit San Francisco

    Source: United States Coast Guard

    U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 06/20/2025 01:15 PM EDT

     

    06/20/2025 01:00 PM EDT

    SAN FRANCISCO—U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle (WIX 327) will visit San Francisco for the first time since 2008 and be open to visitors on June 28.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Conditions imposed on protests in London this weekend

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    The Met has used its powers under the Public Order Act to impose conditions on a number of protests taking place in central London this weekend.

    A protest organised by a number of groups, under the banner of the Palestine Coalition, will take place on Saturday afternoon.

    The protest will form up in Russell Square from midday before marching to Whitehall via Aldwych and the Strand.

    Once at the end of the march an assembly will take place with speeches.

    A static protest organised by the group known as ‘Stop the Hate’, held in opposition to the Palestine Coalition march, will take place just north of Waterloo Bridge at the junction with the Strand.

    The following conditions have been imposed in order to prevent serious disruption.

    Anyone gathering for the Palestine Coalition protest must remain in the shaded area on the map below until the march sets off.

    Anyone participating in the march must then remain on the agreed route shown on the map below.

    Anyone participating in the assembly following the Palestine Coalition march must remain in the blue shaded area on the map below. The stage must be positioned in the area shown in red and the assembly must finish by 17:30hrs.

    Discussions are ongoing in relation to conditions that will be imposed on the ‘Stop the Hate’ protest.

    This page will be updated once those conditions have been confirmed.

    Should any further conditions need to be imposed on other protest activity in London this weekend, the details will be added here.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Conditions imposed on protests in London this weekend

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    The Met has used its powers under the Public Order Act to impose conditions on a number of protests taking place in central London this weekend.

    A protest organised by a number of groups, under the banner of the Palestine Coalition, will take place on Saturday afternoon.

    The protest will form up in Russell Square from midday before marching to Whitehall via Aldwych and the Strand.

    Once at the end of the march an assembly will take place with speeches.

    A static protest organised by the group known as ‘Stop the Hate’, held in opposition to the Palestine Coalition march, will take place just north of Waterloo Bridge at the junction with the Strand.

    The following conditions have been imposed in order to prevent serious disruption.

    Anyone gathering for the Palestine Coalition protest must remain in the shaded area on the map below until the march sets off.

    Anyone participating in the march must then remain on the agreed route shown on the map below.

    Anyone participating in the assembly following the Palestine Coalition march must remain in the blue shaded area on the map below. The stage must be positioned in the area shown in red and the assembly must finish by 17:30hrs.

    Discussions are ongoing in relation to conditions that will be imposed on the ‘Stop the Hate’ protest.

    This page will be updated once those conditions have been confirmed.

    Should any further conditions need to be imposed on other protest activity in London this weekend, the details will be added here.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Arrests Cleveland Homicide Suspect While Riding a Bike

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Cleveland, OH – Today, the U.S. Marshals led Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) arrested Jacob Hughes, 61. Hughes was wanted by the Cleveland Division of Police for aggravated murder.

    It is alleged that on May 30, 2025, Hughes stabbed and killed Kenneth Moore, 52 at an address near the 10500 block of Elk Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. It is also alleged that Hughes attempted to destroy evidence by setting a fire at the residence. Today, members of the NOVFTF arrested Hughes on E. 109th Street and he was riding down the street on a bicycle.  

    U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott stated, “Several hours of investigative work by our task force were dedicated to this arrest. The team had developed information that this fugitive was potentially homeless and getting around the city on a bike. Today, they found him on the bike and made a safe arrest.”

    Anyone with information concerning a wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833), or you can submit a web tip. Reward money is available, and tipsters may remain anonymous.  Follow the U.S. Marshals on Twitter @USMSCleveland.  

    The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force – Cleveland Division is composed of the following federal, state and local agencies:  U.S. Marshals Service, Cleveland Police Department, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police Department, Euclid Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Independence Police Department, Parma Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Solon Police Department, Cleveland RTA Police Department, Westlake Police Department, Bedford Police Department, Middleburg Heights Police Department, Newburgh Heights Police Department and the Metrohealth Police Department.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 45 Years in Federal Prison for Exploiting Minors via Snapchat

    Source: US FBI

    INDIANAPOLIS— Darren Ringenberg, 30, of Louisville, Kentucky, a registered sex offender, was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison, followed by ten years of supervised release, after being convicted of two counts of sexual exploitation of a child while required to register as a sex offender.

    According to court documents, in 2019, Ringenberg was previously convicted in Kentucky of twenty counts of Possession of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor and was required to register as a sex offender for life.

    Then, after his release from the Kentucky offense, in June 2023, Ringenberg, using the Snapchat username “devil_hell6969,” communicated with a nine-year old girl living in Monroe County, Indiana and coerced her to send sexually explicit images and videos, threatening to hack into her social media accounts and remove all her friends if she did not comply. Ringenberg directed her as to what images to send, how to take the photos and told her that they could meet in person in the future. He also falsely claimed to be sixteen years old and would screen-record and save many of the images and conversations without the child’s knowledge.

    After receiving a tip about his illicit behavior online, law enforcement conducted judicially authorized searches of both Ringenberg’s Snapchat account and his residence in Louisville. Investigators found text messages, many of which were sexual in nature, between Ringenberg and various other unidentified minors, including the nine-year-old girl. Also located on his cell phone camera roll were many Snapchat screen recordings of minor victims engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

    “Sex offenders often use manipulation and threats to sexually exploit children with utter disregard for the lasting trauma they inflict. I urge parents and guardians to talk to the children in their lives about what they’re doing online and make sure they have trusted adults they can turn to for help,” said John E. Childress, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “I commend the FBI and the Bloomington Police Department for their work to seek justice for this victim and protect other children from this online predator.”

    “This case is a tragic reminder that with today’s technology, predators can reach across state lines with a few clicks. While the distance didn’t help protect this child from harm, it did not stop the offender from being brought to justice,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to protecting children and holding offenders accountable – no matter where they are.”

    The FBI and Bloomington Police Department investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by Chief U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryAnn T. Mindrum, who prosecuted this case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

    If you are a victim of child sexual exploitation, please contact your local police department. Resources for victims of child exploitation can be found on our website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/project-safe-childhood

    ###

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  • MIL-OSI Security: High-Ranking Member of Violent Mexican Drug Cartel Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for His Role in an International Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

    Source: United States Attorneys General 12

    A Mexican national and violent member of Los Zetas cartel was sentenced today to 35 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $792 million for conspiring to manufacture and distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana knowing that the drugs would be unlawfully imported into the United States.The United States Department of State designated Los Zetas, now known as Cartel del Noreste, as a foreign terrorist organization on Feb. 20, 2025.

    According to court documents, Jaime Gonzalez-Duran, also known as Hummer, 49, was personally responsible for importing into the United States more than 450 kilograms of cocaine and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana, engaging in acts of violence against rival drug trafficking groups for control over drug plazas and trafficking routes, storing and transporting weapons, explosives, and ammunition, and bribing law enforcement officers to ensure drug loads would not be disturbed.

    Gonzalez-Duran was an original member of Los Zetas, a drug trafficking organization comprised of former Mexican military officers that began as an armed militaristic wing for the Gulf Cartel. Gonzalez-Duran later served as a regional commander in the Mexican cities of Matamoros, Reynosa, and Miguel Aleman, after Los Zetas formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel known as “The Company.” Gonzalez-Duran personally maintained a warehouse in Reynosa from which, in November 2008, authorities seized 540 rifles, 165 grenades, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, and 14 sticks of TNT that were used to secure drug territory and shipments. Gonzalez-Duran also was intercepted in a phone call in May 2007 coordinating the transportation of almost $1.5 million in cash from McAllen, Texas, into Mexico.

    “Jaime Gonzalez-Duran employed violence and intimidation tactics to maintain Los Zetas’ reign over key drug trafficking routes, especially on the U.S.-Mexico border, used to send vast quantities of narcotics into the United States,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence is a forceful reminder to Mexican terrorist organizations that the Department of Justice is committed to bringing to justice those who threaten the wellbeing and safety of the American people for their own personal gain.”

    “For decades, DEA agents have tirelessly pursued justice to bring down one of Los Zetas’ most violent leaders, Jaime Gonzalez-Duran,” Said Acting Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell of the DEA Houston Division. “Today, those relentless efforts by our agents have paid off, and Duran will now be held accountable for years of bringing deadly drugs into American communities and killing those who stood in his way. No matter the distance of a violent drug trafficking organization or the rank of its leader, DEA will track down anyone who threatens our national safety and security.”

    On Feb. 28, Gonzalez-Duran pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine and marijuana for unlawful importation into the United States from Mexico.

    The DEA Houston Division investigated the case.

    Deputy Chief Melanie Alsworth and Trial Attorneys Kirk Handrich and Jayce Born of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and October 2022 extradition of Gonzalez-Duran.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: High-Ranking Member of Violent Mexican Drug Cartel Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for His Role in an International Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

    Source: United States Attorneys General 12

    A Mexican national and violent member of Los Zetas cartel was sentenced today to 35 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $792 million for conspiring to manufacture and distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana knowing that the drugs would be unlawfully imported into the United States.The United States Department of State designated Los Zetas, now known as Cartel del Noreste, as a foreign terrorist organization on Feb. 20, 2025.

    According to court documents, Jaime Gonzalez-Duran, also known as Hummer, 49, was personally responsible for importing into the United States more than 450 kilograms of cocaine and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana, engaging in acts of violence against rival drug trafficking groups for control over drug plazas and trafficking routes, storing and transporting weapons, explosives, and ammunition, and bribing law enforcement officers to ensure drug loads would not be disturbed.

    Gonzalez-Duran was an original member of Los Zetas, a drug trafficking organization comprised of former Mexican military officers that began as an armed militaristic wing for the Gulf Cartel. Gonzalez-Duran later served as a regional commander in the Mexican cities of Matamoros, Reynosa, and Miguel Aleman, after Los Zetas formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel known as “The Company.” Gonzalez-Duran personally maintained a warehouse in Reynosa from which, in November 2008, authorities seized 540 rifles, 165 grenades, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, and 14 sticks of TNT that were used to secure drug territory and shipments. Gonzalez-Duran also was intercepted in a phone call in May 2007 coordinating the transportation of almost $1.5 million in cash from McAllen, Texas, into Mexico.

    “Jaime Gonzalez-Duran employed violence and intimidation tactics to maintain Los Zetas’ reign over key drug trafficking routes, especially on the U.S.-Mexico border, used to send vast quantities of narcotics into the United States,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence is a forceful reminder to Mexican terrorist organizations that the Department of Justice is committed to bringing to justice those who threaten the wellbeing and safety of the American people for their own personal gain.”

    “For decades, DEA agents have tirelessly pursued justice to bring down one of Los Zetas’ most violent leaders, Jaime Gonzalez-Duran,” Said Acting Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell of the DEA Houston Division. “Today, those relentless efforts by our agents have paid off, and Duran will now be held accountable for years of bringing deadly drugs into American communities and killing those who stood in his way. No matter the distance of a violent drug trafficking organization or the rank of its leader, DEA will track down anyone who threatens our national safety and security.”

    On Feb. 28, Gonzalez-Duran pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine and marijuana for unlawful importation into the United States from Mexico.

    The DEA Houston Division investigated the case.

    Deputy Chief Melanie Alsworth and Trial Attorneys Kirk Handrich and Jayce Born of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and October 2022 extradition of Gonzalez-Duran.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Ten New Jersey Law Enforcement Officers Graduate FBI National Academy

    Source: US FBI

    FBI Newark Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy congratulates 10 New Jersey law enforcement officers who graduated from the FBI National Academy, Session 294, at a ceremony held in Quantico, Virginia, on June 5.

    The graduates are:

    • Lt. Ronald Breuer — Monroe Township Police Department
    • Lt. Robert Ellis — Franklin Township Police Department
    • Capt. Michael Hurden, Jr. — Wall Township Police Department
    • Lt. Hugo Ribeiro — New Jersey State Police
    • Capt. Matthew Solovay — Princeton Police Department
    • Sgt. Ronald Stephensen — Hightstown Police Department
    • Capt. Patrick Walsh — Ocean City Police Department
    • Capt. Michael Sojka — Roselle Police Department
    • Capt. Leroy Marshall — Lakewood Police Department
    • Special Agent Stephen Jamison, FBI Newark private sector coordinator

    As FBI National Academy graduates, these officers enter a select group made up of less than 1% of the country’s law enforcement officers. They were hand-picked by their departments and, along with about 200 other officers, completed the 10-week course at the FBI training facility in Quantico, Virginia. Internationally known for its academic excellence, the National Academy offers advanced communication, leadership, and fitness training. Session 294 began on March 30.

    The FBI National Academy is dedicated to the improvement of law enforcement standards and has long been a benchmark for professional continuing education. Participants are drawn from every state in the union, from U.S. territories, and from over 150 partner nations. Police officers who attend the National Academy return to their communities better prepared to meet criminal challenges.

    The overall goal of the National Academy is to support, promote and enhance the personal and professional development of law enforcement leaders by preparing them for complex, dynamic and contemporary challenges through innovative techniques, facilitating excellence in education and research and forging partnerships throughout the world. The National Academy was created in 1935, with 23 students in the first class. It has grown over the years to the current enrollment of about 1,000 students a year. The FBI National Academy is one of the premier law enforcement academies in the world.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: How Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques Help Countries Combat Soil Salinization

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    The IAEA has a long history of helping countries adjust to salinized soils. In 1978, the IAEA helped develop climate smart agricultural practices to reclaim salt-affected soil that transformed saline soils in Pakistan into productive farmlands.

    IAEA support to the country has continued as the changing climate has caused even further soil salinization. In Pakistan, erratic rainfall patterns have pushed farmers to irrigate using groundwater with high levels of salt. With IAEA support, Pakistan’s Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) has developed and planted salt-tolerant crops and implemented soil nutrient and water management techniques. Today, NIAB is sharing its expertise by training scientists from other countries affected by soil salinization.

    The IAEA is also supporting countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, where scientists are using nuclear techniques to develop salt-tolerant crops, helping farmers grow food in degraded soils.

    Following IAEA regional projects, in which 60 researchers from 10 countries were trained in soil, nutrient and water management to combat soil salinity, the IAEA published an open-access book enabling experts in several countries to successfully grow crops under saline conditions such as millet in Lebanon, barley and safflower in Jordan and Kuwait, okra in Syria and quinoa in the United Arab Emirates. “Thanks to the joint work with the IAEA, our scientists applied the recommended climate-smart agricultural practices to successfully grow crops under saline conditions,” says Nabeel Bani Hani, Director of the National Agricultural Research Center in Jordan.

    “As the world faces increasing pressure to feed a growing population, restoring degraded land is more urgent than ever. The IAEA’s work shows that with the right tools—science, collaboration, and innovation—we can turn salty, barren soils into fertile ground for the future” said Mohammad Zaman, Head of the Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: How Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques Help Countries Combat Soil Salinization

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    The IAEA has a long history of helping countries adjust to salinized soils. In 1978, the IAEA helped develop climate smart agricultural practices to reclaim salt-affected soil that transformed saline soils in Pakistan into productive farmlands.

    IAEA support to the country has continued as the changing climate has caused even further soil salinization. In Pakistan, erratic rainfall patterns have pushed farmers to irrigate using groundwater with high levels of salt. With IAEA support, Pakistan’s Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) has developed and planted salt-tolerant crops and implemented soil nutrient and water management techniques. Today, NIAB is sharing its expertise by training scientists from other countries affected by soil salinization.

    The IAEA is also supporting countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, where scientists are using nuclear techniques to develop salt-tolerant crops, helping farmers grow food in degraded soils.

    Following IAEA regional projects, in which 60 researchers from 10 countries were trained in soil, nutrient and water management to combat soil salinity, the IAEA published an open-access book enabling experts in several countries to successfully grow crops under saline conditions such as millet in Lebanon, barley and safflower in Jordan and Kuwait, okra in Syria and quinoa in the United Arab Emirates. “Thanks to the joint work with the IAEA, our scientists applied the recommended climate-smart agricultural practices to successfully grow crops under saline conditions,” says Nabeel Bani Hani, Director of the National Agricultural Research Center in Jordan.

    “As the world faces increasing pressure to feed a growing population, restoring degraded land is more urgent than ever. The IAEA’s work shows that with the right tools—science, collaboration, and innovation—we can turn salty, barren soils into fertile ground for the future” said Mohammad Zaman, Head of the Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: IAEA Mission Observes Commitment to Safety at Research Reactor in Malaysia, Recommends Further Improvement

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    An IAEA team of experts visited Malaysia’s nuclear research reactor, the Reaktor TRIGA PUSPATI, during an Integrated Safety Assessment for Research Reactors mission. (Photo: Nuklear Malaysia)

    An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts said Malaysia is committed to the safe operation of its sole nuclear research reactor, the Reaktor TRIGA PUSPATI (RTP). The team also identified the need to further enhance the effectiveness of the reactor’s safety committee, the management of refurbishment and modernization of the reactor’s safety systems and components, and operating procedures.

    The five-day Integrated Safety Assessment for Research Reactors (INSARR) mission to the RTP facility, which concluded on 20 June, was conducted at the request of Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuklear Malaysia). The mission team comprised three experts from Slovenia, South Africa, and Thailand, and two IAEA staff.

    RTP is located in Bangi, Selangor, about 30 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur. Two INSARR missions were conducted at RTP in 1997 and 2014. Since then, the reactor has undergone modifications, including replacement of the rotary rack, refurbishment of the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and the upgrading of the stack monitoring system.

    RTP was constructed in 1979 and began operation in 1982. RTP was designed for various fields of nuclear research, education and training, and it incorporates facilities for neutron and gamma radiation studies, as well as isotope production and sample activation.

    The INSARR team visited the reactor and its associated facilities and met with the research reactor staff and management. “Nuklear Malaysia has shown a commitment to safety by requesting an IAEA INSARR mission,” said Kaichao Sun, team leader and Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA. “Ageing management of reactor systems and components that are important to safety can be challenging. Effective application of the IAEA safety standards, including the establishment of effective leadership and management for safety and the utilization of operating experience feedback, helps address this challenge.”

    The mission team made recommendations and suggestions to Nuklear Malaysia for further improvements, including the need for:

    • Improving the reactor safety committee’s oversight of all activities important to safety, including reactor modifications and operational safety programmes such as refurbishment and modernization of the reactor’s safety systems and components;   
    • Strengthening procedures to respond to abnormal situations and events, such as loss of electrical power, fire and earthquakes;      
    • Establishing procedures for learning from operating experience; and     
    • Strengthening radiological protection practices by improving the classification of different areas of the workplace.  

    “The INSARR mission is a valuable opportunity for us to engage in a peer-review process,” said Julia Abdul Karim, Director of Technical Support Division at Nuklear Malaysia. “It enables us to benchmark our programmes and activities against the IAEA safety standards and the international best practices and to strengthen our operational safety of our research reactor.”

    Background

    INSARR missions are an IAEA peer review service, conducted at the request of a Member State, to assess and evaluate the safety of research reactors based on IAEA safety standards. Follow-up missions are standard components of the INSARR programme and are typically conducted within two years of the initial mission. General information about INSARR missions can be found on the IAEA website.

    The IAEA Safety Standards provide a robust framework of fundamental principles, requirements, and guidance to ensure safety. They reflect an international consensus and serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

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