U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported Edgar Damian Sandoval-Albarran, a 39-year-old Mexican fugitive known as "La Rana," to Mexico. Sandoval-Albarran is wanted in Mexico for organized crime and forced disappearance of persons. The removal took place on June 26.
Sandoval-Albarran was transferred from the Florence Detention Center to the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, where he was handed over to Mexican authorities.
"The removal of Sandoval-Albarran demonstrates the collaborative, whole-of-government approach that ICE supports in protecting the citizens of the U.S.," stated John Cantú, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Phoenix Field Office Director. He emphasized the efforts of dedicated officers and law enforcement partners in ensuring such individuals are brought to justice and removed from the United States.
Previously expelled to Mexico eight times during 2020, Sandoval-Albarran reentered the U.S. illegally at an unknown time and location. The ERO Los Angeles Foreign Fugitive Unit received an arrest warrant for him from the Government of Mexico on September 12, 2024, for organized crime and forced disappearance charges. He was arrested by ERO Los Angeles during a targeted operation in Paso Robles, California, on January 7.
ICE encourages anyone with information about foreign fugitives or criminal aliens illegally present in the U.S. to contact them via their tip line or online form.
For further updates on ICE's immigration enforcement activities in Arizona, follow @ERO_PHOENIX on X.
