ICE arrests convicted drug trafficker from Brazil
A convicted Brazilian drug trafficker who was previously caught and released by Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents more than a year ago has been arrested in a Massachusetts sanctuary city, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced in a statement.
Diogo De-sales Gomes, a 34-year-old unlawfully present Brazilian citizen who has been convicted and sentenced to prison in Brazil for drug trafficking, was arrested on Feb. 3 in Somerville by fugitive operations officers with ICE’S Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) out of Boston.
“The trafficking of illicit substances is a global epidemic that has affected many of our communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said in a recent statement. “The arrest of Mr. De-sales Gomes removes a convicted narcotics trafficker from the public before he could potentially inflict further harm on our residents. Our officers continue to proudly fight against the illegal narcotics epidemic to ensure the safety of those we serve.”
Somerville has been a sanctuary city since 1987 and is one of eight cities in the state that limits cooperation with federal immigration laws.
De-sales Gomes had a criminal warrant for his arrest after being convicted of drug trafficking by the Judicial Court of Cartagina, Mina Gerais, Brazil, in February 2022.
Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended De-sales Gomes in December 2021 after he unlawfully entered the country near San Luis.
He was subsequently issued a notice to appear and released on his own recognizance pending removal proceedings, for which he failed to appear.
ERO Boston initiated an investigation after Brazilian authorities made them aware that De-sales Gomes was somewhere in the Boston area.
Officers arrested him without incident at his residence in Somerville, which is about five miles northwest of the City of Boston.
De-sales Gomes remains in ICE custody pending a hearing with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). ERO Boston will seek removal pending the outcome of proceedings.
Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by EOIR.
EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE.