News and reports from the Department of Homeland Security.

The bag may have been forgotten by a traveler at John F. Kennedy International Airport, however U. S. Customs and Border Protection officers and K-9 still stopped this load of dangerous narcotics from entering the United States.On December 19, a flight arrived from Guayaquil, Ecuador CBP officers and K-9 inspected all the checked-on luggage on the aircraft.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry apprehended a man with an outstanding arrest warrant for homicide out of the Lakewood Police Department in Lakewood, Colorado.“CBP Officers at the Santa Teresa port are working hard to identify and stop any and all threats to the American public,” said CBP Santa Teresa Port Director Tony Hall.

Zapata Border Patrol Station awarded the Youth of the Month honorees for October and November during a ceremony at Zapata High School.

Laredo Sector Border Patrol intercepted a human smuggling attempt at the I-35 checkpoint north of Laredo, Texas.

On December 4, 5 and 9, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized three shipments of improperly imported Sildenafil pills and jelly transiting through the Port of Cincinnati.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began detaining merchandise produced or manufactured by Jingde Trading Ltd., Rixin Foods. Ltd., and Zhejiang Sunrise Garment Group Co. Ltd. at all U.S. ports of entry on Dec. 5, 2022.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released operational statistics today for November 2022, which can be viewed online here.

Deportation officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, D.C. field office arrested a Salvadoran fugitive, who is listed as one of El Salvador’s top 100 most wanted criminals. ERO Washington D.C. apprehended Herberth Bonilla-Garcia, 40, during a targeted operation in Manassas, Virginia Dec. 1.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed today by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. included key measures to enable the agency’s critical homeland security missions.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Panama, in coordination with the local Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit (TCIU), in addition to HSI Operation Expanded Impact Costa Rica and the Government of Costa Rica, executed 20 arrest warrants and 23 search warrants that resulted in the arrest of 19 individuals, the seizure of several vehicles, and the rescue of 77 migrants, Dec. 13.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar announced Monday, that Christopher James Masterson, 35, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was sentenced to 30 years in the Bureau of Prisons for the sexual exploitation of minor children. Salazar was joined in the announcement by United States Attorney Mark Totten.

Deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office apprehended a Mexican national in Akron, Ohio who is wanted for sexual abuse of minor in Mexico, Dec. 13, 2022.

A federal grand jury in Del Rio returned an indictment last week charging a Mexican national with possessing a firearm and smuggling goods from the United States. Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Dallas Division and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Three Missouri men have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a scheme to transport tens of thousands of stolen catalytic converters across state lines as part of a multimillion-dollar business following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and law enforcement partner investigation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston field office, commonly called ERO Boston, removed an unlawfully present foreign fugitive wanted in Portugal Dec.14. The man is wanted in Portugal for drug trafficking.