Nov 16, 2007 6:58 pm US/Eastern
ICE Director Detail Priorities For South Florida
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The wave of violent crimes in South Florida is getting federal attention.
The director of the investigations for ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told CBS4'S Brian Andrews that stopping that crime wave is one of her top priorities for the South Florida agents who report to her.
Marcy Forman says her agents have teamed up with the Broward Sheriffs Office and Miami-Dade police to crack down on the rash of violent crimes in South Florida. She's also directed her agents to look more closely at crimes like weapons and human trafficking and international money laundering.
Forman says there are some major investigations happening right now in our area.
"Human smuggling, trafficking, a lot of money laundering," Forman told Brian Andrews in a one-on-one interview.
She says there are also terrorism concerns as Miami remains a vulnerable target.
"It's a very high tourist area. It's a major financial center. Certainly we have to be cognizant and we can't afford to let our guard down". Forman said they're not just watching Middle East terrorists either. "We're looking at all terrorists, transnational terrorists, I mean the Farc in Colombia, those are groups we've always been interested in whether it's drug smuggling, arms smuggling, and money laundering," said Forman.
Forman described how the rash of counterfeit merchandise circulating in our area is an example of how some terror groups get the money.
"The money is the lifeblood of any criminal organization, and that includes terrorists, and terrorists are criminals and certainly we don't want money lots of money going to state sponsors of terrorism," said Forman.
ICE is also investigating gang violence in South Florida which recently had more than 350 arrests in our area.
"Miami-Fort Lauderdale unfortunately has a gang problem. Many of these gang members are foreign born, recently since June, Miami was one of the top offices going after these transnational gangs," said Forman.
Smuggling is also a focus for ICE agents here. They still see people swallow condoms full of drugs or $100 dollar bills. There was even a recent case of money hidden in bicycle tires and boxes of laundry detergent.
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