ICE says drug cartels are using Virginia as a hub and moving drugs up the East Coast

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — 7News is continuing to get an inside look at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) operations in Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

On Thursday, ICE arrested a man identified as Marvin Mateo-Alberto, who they say was charged with child sex crimes in Fairfax County and is in the U.S. illegally. 7News was there to observe the early morning arrest in Herndon.

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After ICE arrested Mateo-Alberto, they brought him back to the ICE Washington Field Office in Chantilly, Virginia, where they took his fingerprints, biometrics, and started paperwork to begin the process of deporting him. They also fed Mateo-Alberto as he was held in this cell with other men ICE suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

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The man ICE arrested is not accused of being involved with drug cartels or MS-13.

But before ICE arrested the man in the early morning operation, 7News Reporter Nick Minock asked ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington Field Office Director about MS-13’s presence in the Washington, D.C. Metro area.

“Does Northern Virginia have an MS 13 problem?” Minock asked Russell Hott.

“I would say yes,” said Hott. “This is scary as a resident, as a law enforcement officer. MS-13 has a very strong hold in the Northern Virginia, D.C., Maryland region. We see communities like Herndon and Reston with a very strong presence. We see Woodbridge, a place where we just arrested a top MS-13 gang leader calling shots and making very big decisions for the illicit activity of the gang, all here in Northern Virginia, and that is what we are working to fight against.”

“I read in court documents that it looks like the federal prosecutor is dropping the firearm charge against that alleged MS-13 gang leader. What do you think about that?” Minock asked.

“Ultimately, that is not the desired outcome from the agency,” said Hott. “Our DOJ partners are evaluating the next steps on that particular case. Regardless of that outcome, we are going to pursue removal and take custody of that individual once, and if those charges are ultimately dropped.”

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Hott said ICE is seeing a strong presence of cartels moving into Southern Virginia and using that as a hub site.

“Leveraging the corridors on [Interstate] 81 and 95 to traffic fentanyl and other dangerous drugs between the East Coast,” said Hott.

“Is that cartel making its way up here?” asked Minock.

“We do see a presence in Northern Virginia,” answered Hott. “The cartels have been emboldened in the last few years. There's been a tremendous amount of both people and illicit drugs being trafficked into the United States, and our mission is to combat that and fight that.”

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Right now, Hott said ICE is working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to break up the cartel network in Southwest Virginia.

The DEA said they seized 639,000 fentanyl pills and 189 pounds of fentanyl powder in Washington, D.C, Maryland, and Virginia in 2023 --- which is a 250% increase compared to 2022.

The DEA said that of the 639,000 fentanyl pills seized, 415,300 of them were seized in Virginia.