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Oklahoma fugitive operations team shuts down stolen-car 'chop shop' and arrests 2 aliens for illegal possession of firearms

OKLAHOMA CITY — While targeting a previously deported illegal alien, officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) discovered another illegal alien who was in possession methamphetamine and was allegedly operating a "chop shop" to dismantle stolen cars.

ERO Fugitive Operations team members from Oklahoma City, working with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), targeted Luis Armando Saenz-Gutierrez, 36, from Mexico. Saenz-Gutierrez had been convicted in Oklahoma in 2009 of drug trafficking, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. In 2011, he was released early from prison under Oklahoma's Rapid Repatriation Act and was deported by ERO. Under this Act, aliens who violate the terms of their release and illegally re-enter the United States must serve the remainder of their Oklahoma state prison sentences, and they may also be prosecuted federally. Anyone who re-enters the United States after having been previously deported commits a felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

After arriving at Saenz-Gutierrez's house in Oklahoma City, ERO officers encountered Francisco Hernandez-Seguame, 26, exiting the residence. They determined that Hernandez-Seguame was also from Mexico and was illegally in the United States. HSI special agents secured a search warrant for the house, and located and arrested Saenz-Gutierrez. In the house, they also discovered three handguns, one sawed-off shotgun and various calibers of ammunition. It is unlawful for illegal aliens to possess firearms in the United States.

ERO officers then visited the Oklahoma City apartment of Hernandez-Seguame, where they received consent to search the apartment for the woman who resided there. During that search, officers discovered a plastic bag filled with about one-half pound of methamphetamine. The street value of the methamphetamine was estimated at about $4,000.

From the interviews conducted, ERO officers and HSI special agents determined that Hernandez-Seguame dismantled stolen cars in a vacant lot adjacent to the house where Saenz-Gutierrez was located. Officers recovered four stolen vehicles from the lot, as well as an illegal sawed-off shotgun with ammunition.

"This ICE team effort between our ERO officers and HSI special agents removed two dangerous criminals from Oklahoma City streets," said Simona L. Flores, field office director of ERO Dallas. "Ultimately, our operations help improve public safety."