New York Paralegal Blog

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Mary Galligan, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Ronald J. Knapp, the Chief of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and Adrian H. Anderson, the Dutchess County Sheriff, announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging 11 defendants with conspiracy to distribute heroin in and around Poughkeepsie, New York.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Twelve suspects were taken into custody Tuesday in the culmination of a long-term probe targeting a Bay Area-based heroin trafficking ring by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the California Department of Justice-led South Bay Metro Task Force.

DETROIT — Twelve individuals were charged in an indictment for their role in a significant drug distribution operation that allegedly trafficked in excess of 30 kilograms of heroin, 12 kilograms of cocaine, 1,000 pounds of marijuana and laundered in excess of $21 million. The joint investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

HOUSTON—Alejandro Smith, 21, has been arrested following the filing of a criminal complaint alleging he knowingly and intentionally conspired to possess with heroin, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. Smith, who was arrested yesterday, is a guard with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Institutional Division. According to the complaint, in May 2011, FBI and Texas Rangers obtained information from a confidential source that Smith, a TDCJ Institutional Division guard at the Eastham Unit, was providing contraband to prisoners in the unit. In order to corroborate the information received, a sting operation was initiated that involved the use of a law enforcement undercover officer. On June 1, 2011, a meeting was arranged in which the undercover officer was present when Smith picked up narcotics at a Target store parking lot, in Huntsville, Texas. Law enforcement personnel from the FBI, Texas Rangers, Walker County Sheriff’s Office, Huntsville Police ...

DULLES, Va. - In less than one week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents, arrested two Nigerian men allegedly attempting to smuggle heroin inside their persons. Both were arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport. "ICE HSI agents and CBP officers continue their close collaboration to ensure that drug smugglers are identified and apprehended," said John P. Torres, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Washington, D.C. "ICE HSI is committed to working with our federal, state and local partners to investigate those individuals and organizations that attempt to exploit perceived vulnerabilities at our borders."

BUFFALO – In the largest heroin bust in Buffalo history, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrests and unsealing of a 51-count indictment against 15 individuals accused of taking part in a drug distribution network where heroin trafficking originated in the Bronx and was routinely funneled to Buffalo for distribution on city streets. As part of a multi-agency investigation code-named “Operation Horse Trail,” state and local law enforcement agents led by the New York State Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and the New York State Police conducted an 11-month-long investigation that included undercover operations, hundreds of hours of covert surveillance, and wiretaps.

NEW YORK- Roberto Valentino Cruz, also known as "Cholo," "Jorge," and "Roberto Vasquez," was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, following his July 2, extradition from Spain to the United States on charges of participating in an international drug trafficking conspiracy. At his arraignment on Friday, July 2, Cruz was ordered detained pending trial by U.S. Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom. The extradition and arraignment were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (ICE).