Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has arrested two illegal migrants who were running a drugs and narcotics operation in Maryland and Georgia. The agency said the operation was part of a joint effort with HSI Atlanta, ATF’s Baltimore field division, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The two migrants, whose names were not released, were arrested on Thursday and were found to be in possession of an arsenal of weapons, including more than 30 guns. The operation was the result of a tip from law enforcement officials who had been investigating the duo’s activities.
The HSI operation comes just one day after prosecutors in Queens indicted 10 members of the Tren de Aragua gang and their associates for similar operations in New York City. The TDA gang is a violent Venezuelan gang that has been linked to drug trafficking and gun running.
In the New York City case, authorities seized a cache of 34 illegal guns, including AR-15 assault rifles and a Glock 9mm with a trigger modification making it an automatic. The gang members were also found to be peddling deadly drugs, including pink cocaine, a designer street drug that includes a mixture of ketamine, MDMA, and ecstasy.
All 10 members of the TDA gang are migrants from Venezuela who entered the country illegally via the southern border. The gang was led by two Venezuelan nationals who established a gun-running crew in New York City two years ago.
One of the TDA members was accused of breaking an officer’s arm during the arrest, and will face charges for that incident. The arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile cases involving violent illegal migrants who have been deported from the United States.
