ICE arrests 16 foreign nationals in Wake County criminal sweep
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Sixteen people were arrested in a week-long immigration sweep in Wake County.
Federal officials said Friday that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement targeted "at-large criminal aliens" who had been identified based on arrest records with local law enforcement agencies.
The foreign nationals arrested had a variety of criminal records, including DWIs, burglary, assault, robbery and resisting a public officer.
One person was a confirmed member of Sureño 13, a transnational criminal street gang.
Of those arrested, eight were previously deported.
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Four of the individuals arrested were identified while in the custody of the Wake County Sheriff's Office, federal officials said.
One of those suspects was released despite a detainer in place and in spite of charges involving the assault of two young children. Three individuals were released before ICE could respond, the agency said.
Jose Isaias Montiel, Francisco Javier Contreras Villaverde, Luis Gerardo Aguilar Soto, Marden Giovanny Benles-Ocampos, Victor Chapol Ambros, Manuel Antonio Reyes-Moreno and Nelson Cruz-Aquino all face federal charges in North Carolina's Eastern District.
Authorities said that while this was a targeted operation, ICE does conduct this kind of law-enforcement activity on a daily basis.
