Alleged Fake ID Kingpin Arrested in Mexico
Bruce Mandelblit
Friday, June 30, 2006
On June 17, 2006, one of Immigration and Custom Enforcement's (ICE) most wanted fugitives was arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico, by Mexican law enforcement authorities assisted by agents from the ICE Foreign Attaché office.
A federal grand jury in Denver indicted this ICE "Top 10 Most Wanted" fugitive last July on charges of conspiracy, fraud, misuse of visas, and money laundering. The indictment alleges that this suspect is a founding member and the leader of a criminal organization
engaged in the nationwide manufacture and distribution of counterfeit immigration and identification documents.
The investigation that led to this major arrest began in October 2000 when ICE agents began investigating the sale and distribution of counterfeit identity documents in Denver.
During the course of the investigation, this foreign national was identified as the alleged leader of a large-scale criminal organization involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents, including resident alien cards, Social Security cards, Mexican Matricula Consular ID cards, driver's licenses and identity documents from various states of Mexico and the United States.
The investigation revealed that this criminal organization has allegedly been involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents in numerous cities throughout the United States. For more information on this arrest, criminal indictment and ICE investigation, log on to
www.ice.gov.
Sadly, this is just one example of the current ubiquitous nature of phony identification that floods our country, and weakens our national security, each and every day.
While the "immigration reform" debate continues in Congress, countless people, right now, are using fake identification to do everything from simply getting a job to committing serious crimes, including ID theft and even potential acts of terrorism.
One of the keys to any successful immigration reform plan is the assurance of secure identification documents. Without highly tamper-resistant IDs, the underpinning of any new immigration law might be at risk. At this very moment, virtually anywhere in the United States where there are communities of illegal immigrants, you will likely find a flourishing underground trade in selling high-quality phony identification, including bogus driver's licenses and Social Security cards.