Tag:

Smuggling

Luxury Trips, $1M Homes: 2 Dads Convicted In NY For Russian Spy Smuggling Plot Luxury Trips, $1M Homes: 2 Dads Convicted In NY For Russian Spy Smuggling Plot
Luxury Trips, $1M Homes: 2 Dads Convicted In NY For Russian Spy Smuggling Plot Two suburban husbands — one from New Jersey, the other from New Hampshire — lived comfortable family lives while secretly helping Russia obtain U.S.-made technology and sniper ammunition, federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday, Aug. 19. Vadim Yermolenko, 43, of Upper Saddle River, NJ, a dual U.S. and Russian citizen, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in the illicit network, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. His co-defendant, Alexey Brayman, 38, of Merrimack, NH, an Israeli citizen born in Ukraine, pleaded guilty and is awaiting se…
$22.5M Gold Heist Suspect Caught In US Smuggling 65 Guns Into Canada: DOJ $22.5M Gold Heist Suspect Caught In US Smuggling 65 Guns Into Canada: DOJ
$22.5M Gold Heist Suspect Caught In US Smuggling 65 Guns Into Canada: DOJ A man wanted in one of the biggest gold thefts in Canadian history has admitted in U.S. court to smuggling dozens of guns—including fully automatic machine pistols—back into Canada, federal prosecutors say. Durante King-Mclean, 26, of Cambridge, Ontario, pleaded guilty in Harrisburg on Tuesday, May 14, to conspiracy to traffic firearms after a Pennsylvania traffic stop exposed a shocking weapons pipeline stretching from Florida to the Canadian border. He had 65 handguns crammed into the trunk of a rental car, each one hidden inside a sock, authorities said. Among them were stolen weapons, …
Egg Smuggling Soars As US Prices Spike, Fentanyl Seizures Drop: CBP Egg Smuggling Soars As US Prices Spike, Fentanyl Seizures Drop: CBP
Egg Smuggling Soars As US Prices Spike, Fentanyl Seizures Drop: CBP U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is cracking down on a surprising contraband at the border—eggs. Egg-related seizures have surged 116% in the first two months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, with officials reporting 3,254 interceptions, according to CBP data. The spike comes as U.S. egg prices continue to soar, driven by a historic avian flu outbreak decimating poultry farms nationwide. Meanwhile, fentanyl seizures have fallen 32% year-over-year. While President Donald Trump has vowed to curb fentanyl trafficking, the more immediate smuggling crisis appears to be brea…
Cellphone Smuggling Scheme: Former Sing Sing Corrections Officer To See Jail Cell, DA Says Cellphone Smuggling Scheme: Former Sing Sing Corrections Officer To See Jail Cell, DA Says
Cellphone Smuggling Scheme: Former Sing Sing Corrections Officer To See Jail Cell, DA Says A former correction officer at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Westchester will now see the other side of a prison cell for his role in a scheme to smuggle contraband cellphones to inmates, prosecutors announced.  Jose Estevez-Luciano, age 35, of Yorktown Heights, was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 13, to one to three years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges related to a conspiracy to smuggle cellphones into Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office announced on Friday, Feb. 14.  Between October 2021 and August 202…
NY Man Accused Of Smuggling Snakes In His Pants Into US From Canada NY Man Accused Of Smuggling Snakes In His Pants Into US From Canada
NY Man Accused Of Smuggling Snakes In His Pants Into US From Canada A 36-year-old man from New York is accused of smuggling three snakes in his pants across the United States-Canadian border. Calvin Bautista, a resident of Richmond Hill in Queens, was arraigned on Tuesday, Oct. 4, on an indictment charging him with smuggling three Burmese pythons into the United States at the Champlain Port of Entry, according to United States Attorney Carla Freedman. The US Attorney's Office said Bautista smuggled the snakes in his pants during a bus ride across the border. The charge filed against Bautista carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fin…
Northern Westchester Man Sentenced For Role In Armed Cocaine Robbery, Smuggling Gun Into Jail Northern Westchester Man Sentenced For Role In Armed Cocaine Robbery, Smuggling Gun Into Jail
Northern Westchester Man Sentenced For Role In Armed Cocaine Robbery, Smuggling Gun Into Jail A Hudson Valley man who admitted to taking part in an armed cocaine robbery and later smuggling a loaded gun into jail will spend more than two decades in federal prison. Northern Westchester resident Deejay White, age 45, of Chappaqua, was sentenced to 21 years behind bars Thursday, Sept. 22, in federal court in Manhattan. It came over a year after White pleaded guilty in July 2021 to charges of armed robbery, conspiring to smuggle contraband into a federal detention facility, and possession of a firearm while incarcerated. Federal prosecutors said White and four co-conspirators got wind…