smuggling

Oct. 28 (UPI) — A Mexican father and son duo residing legally in Alabama were arrested and charged with allegedly trafficking of hundreds of weapons, as well as magazines and ammunition.

Emilio Ramirez Cortes and his son, Edgar Emilio Ramirez Diaz, were stopped Thursday by U.S. border agents as they approached the Juarez-Lincoln Port of Entry in Laredo in two separate vehicles loaded with more than 300 hundred weapons, magazines and rounds of ammunition.

“This seizure of an immense quantity of firearms illustrates the Southern District of Texas’s full-spectrum approach to fighting the cartels,” U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said.

“We will attack every facet of their operations until they are wiped off the face of the earth,” he added in a statement.

Ramirez Cortes, a Mexican citizen who legally resides in Alabama, reportedly drove a Chevrolet Silverado with a Mexican license plate while his son sat behind the wheel of an Alabama-plated Chevrolet Tahoe and appeared to drive in tandem.

Both vehicles were seen hauling enclosed white box utility trailers in which authorities found false walls hiding well over 300 rifles and pistols “as well as various caliber ammunition and magazines,” federal officials allege.

Court records allege the men were paid for the smuggling attempt and made similar trips on multiple occasions.

U.S. border officials said this summer that CBP officers near the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas continue to seize a “large” number of outbound firearms in scores of attempted smugglings to other countries.

In the last two years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized over 400 handguns and long arms, nearly 1,000 magazines and gun parts, and nearly 52,000 rounds of ammunition.

Ganjei said those who “illegally traffic guns to Mexico empower cartels to terrorize the innocent.”

Meanwhile, Ramirez Cortes and Ramirez Diaz made initial court appearances in a federal court in Laredo.

Both men were charged with smuggling firearms, ammunition, magazines and other accessories as well as firearm trafficking.

They remain in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Friday.

US president says American forces struck the vessel in the Southern Command’s ‘area of responsibility’.

United States President Donald Trump says American forces have carried out another strike targeting a ship that he claimed was “trafficking illicit narcotics”, killing at least three men on board the vessel.

The announcement, late on Friday, marks the third time the US has claimed a deadly attack on an alleged drug smuggling vessel this month.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the “lethal kinetic strike” took place on his orders in the US Southern Command’s “area of responsibility” – a region that encompasses 31 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage en route to poison Americans,” Trump said.

“The strike killed 3 male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel, which was in international waters. No US Forces were harmed in this strike.”

The US has twice this month carried out strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels that had originated in Venezuela.

The Home Office has announced £100m in extra funding as part of efforts to crack down on illegal people smuggling in the English Channel.

The money will pay for up to 300 additional National Crime Agency (NCA) officers as well as new technology and equipment.

More than 25,000 people made the journey from France to the UK in small boats before the end of July, a record for this point in the year.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the move would help the UK better “track the [smuggling] gangs and bring them down”. The Conservative Party called it a “desperate grab for headlines which will make no real difference”.

Last month, the government agreed a “one in, one out” pilot scheme with France which aims to deter migrants from crossing the Channel. Under the scheme, some arrivals would be returned to France and in exchange the UK would accept an equivalent number of asylum seekers, subject to security checks.

According to the Home Office, the new £100m will boost border security and strengthen investigations targeting smuggling kingpins who have operations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.

Ms Cooper said gangs had shown a “a ruthless ability to adapt their tactics and maximise their profits, no matter how many lives they put at risk”.

The NCA has 91 ongoing investigations into people-smuggling networks affecting the UK, the agency’s director general of operations Rob Jones said.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of having “no serious plan” to tackle the issue.

“The British public deserves real action, not empty slogans and tinkering at the edges,” he said.

Writing in the Daily Express, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was an effort to “throw taxpayer money at the illegal immigration crisis and hope it will go away”.

“Another £100 million here or there won’t move the needle. It won’t stop the boats or the gangs,” he added.

Labour and previous Conservative governments have both struggled to reduce the number of people coming to the UK illegally in small boats.

The Conservatives had proposed sending arrivals to Rwanda, but the scheme was delayed by legal challenges. The general election was called before it could be implemented.

One of Sir Keir Starmer’s first acts as prime minister was to scrap the plan, calling it a gimmick.

In another measure, which was revealed on Sunday, people advertising illegal Channel crossings online could face up to five years in prison under a new offence the government plans to introduce.

Assisting illegal immigration to the UK is already a crime, but officials believe the new offence would give police and other agencies more power to disrupt criminal gangs.

It would criminalise the creation of material for publication online which promotes or offers services that facilitate a breach of UK immigration law.

This would include people using social media to advertise fake passports or visas, or the promise of illegal work opportunities in the UK, and as well as jail time could carry a large fine.

There are some people who are not phased by the security checks and scanners and brazenly try to smuggle illegal substances through the airport – a number of them have now been nabbed

Thousands of families will be jetting off to and from Manchester Airport for their summer getaways. While most holidaymakers are mindful of the 100ml liquid rule and removing large electrical items from their hand luggage, there are always a few who slip up.

Yet, there are some travellers who seem unfazed by security measures and audaciously attempt to smuggle illegal substances in their luggage. A number of these so-called “tourists” were nabbed by vigilant security teams and police at Manchester Airport.

Among those caught was a pair of friends who claimed their suitcases were brimming with shopping, a woman who flaunted her holiday snaps to staff before being apprehended, and a boxer who accepted an “offer he couldn’t refuse”.

Below is a snapshot of some individuals arrested at Manchester Airport, as highlighted by the Manchester Evening News, though it’s not an exhaustive list.

They claimed they went shopping in New York – their luggage told a different tale

Sophie Bannister, 30, hailing from Withington, and her mate Levi-April Whalley, 31, from Lancashire, appeared to have returned from a fabulous shopping spree in New York, touching down on British turf with suitcases that seemed to overflow with new purchases.

Their suitcases, however, told a starkly different tale. Upon their return to the UK, the pair were caught with over 35kg of cannabis in their baggage.

In April, seated together in the dock, the women clasped hands and wept as the court was informed of their attempt to smuggle the drugs into the country, reports Liverpool Echo.

Both women pleaded guilty to the charge of fraudulent evasion of prohibition. Bannister’s 20-month term was suspended for 18 months, while Whalley was given a 16-month sentence which was also suspended for the same duration. The court heard that both women were susceptible to exploitation due to their personal and financial struggles.

The remorseful friends disclosed to the Mirror the series of events that led them to become entangled in a cannabis smuggling scheme, which seemingly began with a single message on social media.

She flaunted her holiday snaps to staff – then they nicked her

A mum who proudly presented her vacation snaps to officers at Manchester Airport found herself under arrest when they spotted a revealing detail.

Larissa Lins, aged 27, insisted she had travelled to the UK to “research nice places” after transiting through France and Portugal from Brazil. Despite her claims of innocence regarding any illicit activities, the photo gallery she shared with the officials inadvertently revealed her time in France.

While browsing through the images, they came across a snapshot of the “white pellets”. Further investigation revealed that Lins had ingested, concealed, and stashed away a kilogram of narcotics both inside and outside her body.

After admitting to her role in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on importing a class A substance, she was sentenced on October 17 last year. The court informed her that she will “almost inevitably” face deportation back to Brazil after completing 40% of her term.

Boxer behind bars after irresistible offer

A former pugilist and father of two found himself under arrest at Manchester Airport following what he described as “‘an offer he felt he could not refuse”.

Edward Nesbitt, aged 36, was one of two drug mules imprisoned in May, alongside Yoke Woon, subsequent to the seizure of a suitcase crammed with 23 kilos of cannabis at the airport. Manchester Crown Court listened to accounts of how Uber driver Woon arrived with the contraband on a flight from Singapore in March.

He abandoned the suitcase on the luggage belt in Terminal 2, where it was retrieved by Nesbitt, who had landed on a different plane from Amsterdam. Prosecutor Mark Pritchard detailed how Woon, aged 43, touched down at T2 just past 8:30 am on March 4 on a Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore, using a Malaysian passport.

Friends admir ‘you’re going to see it’ as luggage scrutinised

Two school friends faced the music after a “naïve and stupid” decision following their three-week revelry in Thailand. Lewis Ellis and James Poutch jetted off in April to experience a festival dubbed as “the world’s biggest water fight”.

Upon their return to Manchester Airport via Abu Dhabi, Ellis, 20, and Poutch, 19, were stopped for a luggage inspection.

Ellis didn’t hesitate to confess to customs officers: “I have cannabis in my bag, I may as well tell you because you’re going to see it.”

The search revealed a staggering 37kg of cannabis stashed in their bags. Both Ellis and Poutch were handed suspended sentences at Manchester Crown Court.

Secret awesome UK beach with vast expanse of white sand is a great escape from the crowds – and it’s so tucked away from sight that it was a smuggler’s favourite in times gone by

An unspoilt beach is a retreat away from crowds of holidaymakers, which is what many are hoping to find as the summer holidays begin. The sandy bay is so tucked away out of sight that smugglers would bring in their wares to this part of the coastline many years ago.

The beach also has two names it goes by, it’s located on the Gower Peninsula in South West Wales – and you need to take a pleasant long walk to reach it. Slade Bay, also known as The Sands due to the vast white sand beach at low tide, is like a special paradise – and it doesn’t get crowded.

Visitors describe it as a ‘beautiful bay, so unspoilt’, it’s also dog-friendly and you can even go surfing there. The Beach Guide website also described it as a good spot for fishing – and of course amazing sunsets due to its south west setting.

Hotel Parc Le Breos describes the hike to the gorgeous beach on their website: “A very picturesque walk around Oxwich Point all the way to Slade Bay. Varied scenery and fantastic views up and down the Gower Peninsula.”

You’ll cover a distance of about four miles to get to Slade Bay – and it’ll take an average time of two hours, however it will be worth the walk. The terrain is said to be ‘easy underfoot but some steep climbs including a big flight of steps’ according to advice from the hotel Parc Le Breos website.

The Parc Le Breos website explained where to park, before taking up the hike: “Head down to Parkmill then turn tight onto the south Gower road (A4418) turning off at the signposted junction for Oxwich. Park in the large supervised beach car park.”

Then you head towards the Oxwich Bay Hotel, before walking towards the church ‘nestled in the woods’ – this is the start of the trek to the beach. From there it’s a climb up lots of steps, then it’s a left – follow a path alongside fields then follow the path down a cliff top, which takes you along the cliff’s edge.

After a while you’ll see Slade Bay and you need to follow an uphill path up to the valley before you come to a track and then a lane, which you’ll need to turn right on and follow for one mile. You’ll then descend to Oxwich village and you should see the Oxwich castle on the right – from here you’ll find a narrow path towards the beach.

The Beach Guide also explained the location: “Slade beach, or The Sands as it is also known, sits just beyond the end of Port Eynon beach. In fact on a super low tide you can actually get here with dry feet from the Horton end of Port Eynon.

“As the name suggests there is a good sized stretch of sand here, although this depends to a large extent on the state of the tide. To each side of the beach are extensive flat rocks that are home to numerous rock pools, whilst to the rear are low cliffs.

They added that ‘access to the beach isn’t terribly straightforward’ as there is ‘no obvious route down from the coast path’ between the more well-known Horton and Oxwich Bay. However, this is why the beach is usually uncrowded, hence making it ‘a favourite with smugglers in years gone by’.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was wrongfully deported from the United States, has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges in a federal court in Nashville, Tennessee.

Friday marked the first opportunity for Abrego Garcia, a Maryland construction worker, to confront the criminal charges the administration of President Donald Trump has levelled against him.

The Trump administration has sought to portray Abrego Garcia as a member of the MS-13 criminal gang following his deportation to El Salvador on March 15.

Abrego Garcia had been protected from deportation under a 2019 protection order, given his fear of gang violence if he returned to El Salvador. His removal to that country sparked public outrage and questions about the legality of Trump’s “mass deportation” campaign.

In the months since, the Trump administration has faced increasing pressure to return Abrego Garcia to the US, with the Supreme Court in April affirming that the government needed to “facilitate” his release.

A lower court, led by US District Judge Paula Xinis, had signalled that it was considering whether to hold the Trump administration in contempt of court for not complying with orders to secure his return.

That abruptly changed, however, on June 6, when Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Abrego Garcia was on his way back to the US to face charges that he helped smuggle undocumented migrants in the US.

In a 10-page indictment, the Trump administration accused Abrego Garcia of leading “more than 100 trips between Texas to Maryland and other states”, starting in 2016.

It cites as evidence a traffic stop in Tennessee around November 30, 2022, when Abrego Garcia was observed driving a Chevrolet Suburban with nine passengers, all of whom appeared to be undocumented men headed to Maryland.

The administration has released body camera footage of that incident, where a police officer can be heard speculating that Abrego Garcia is part of a smuggling ring. But the footage shows no confrontation, and Abrego Garcia was not charged with any offence following the traffic stop.

Prosecutors have noted that Abrego Garcia could face a maximum of 10 years in prison for each migrant he smuggled, if convicted.

Critics, however, question whether the recently unveiled criminal indictment was an attempt by the Trump administration to save face and dodge contempt charges, given the scrutiny over whether it was defying court orders.

Abrego Garcia’s defence team, meanwhile, has called the charges against him “preposterous”.

“There’s no way a jury is going to see the evidence and agree that this sheet-metal worker is the leader of an international MS-13 smuggling conspiracy,” one of his lawyers, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told The Associated Press.

His case has nevertheless gained a national profile, with the Trump administration facing multiple legal challenges over whether it violated migrants’ right to due process: the right to a fair legal hearing.

Even administration officials have acknowledged that his swift deportation had been the result of an “administrative error”.

In Friday’s court hearing, US Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes spoke directly to Abrego Garcia, assuring him that he would receive a fair trial.

“You are presumed innocent, and it is the government’s burden to prove at trial that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” Holmes said, reiterating fundamental principles of the US justice system.

The Trump administration has sought to keep Abrego Garcia detained while the trial unfolds, using additional allegations that are not included in the indictment as justification. Prosecutors have accused Abrego Garcia, among other things, of child pornography, abusing women and taking part in a murder in El Salvador. They also argue he is a flight risk.

But Judge Holmes warned on Friday that the court cannot keep someone in detention simply on the basis of allegations.

The human smuggling charges against Abrego Garcia have already caused discord within the Justice Department, with one prosecutor appearing to step down in protest.

That prosecutor, Ben Schrader, was the chief of the criminal division at the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

He posted on social media on the day of the indictment that he was leaving. “It has been an incredible privilege to serve as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where the only job description I’ve ever known is to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons,” he wrote.

Outside the court on Friday, Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, called on supporters to keep fighting for his freedom: “Kilmar wants you to have faith.”

She saw her husband for the first time in three months on Thursday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation has become a flashpoint in President Trump’s immigration crackdown, pleaded not guilty on Friday to human smuggling charges in a federal court in Tennessee.

The plea was the first chance the Maryland construction worker has had in a U.S. courtroom to answer the Trump administration’s allegations against him since he was mistakenly deported in March to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The Republican administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. last week to face criminal charges related to what it said was a human smuggling operation that transported immigrants across the country. The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee during which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers. His lawyers have called the allegations “preposterous.”

Friday’s hearing will also focus on whether Abrego Garcia should be released from jail while awaiting trial on the smuggling charges. A federal judge will hear arguments from Abrego Garcia’s lawyers and attorneys for the U.S. government.

Before the hearing began in Nashville, Abrego Garcia’s wife told a crowd outside a church that Thursday marked three months since the Trump administration “abducted and disappeared my husband and separated him from our family.”

Her voice choked with emotion, Jennifer Vasquez Sura said she saw her husband for the first time on Thursday. She said, “Kilmar wants you to have faith,” and asked the people supporting him and his family “‘to continue fighting, and I will be victorious because God is with us.’”

Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador who had been living in the United States for more than a decade before he was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration. The expulsion violated a 2019 U.S. immigration judge’s order that shielded him from deportation to his native country because he likely faced gang persecution there.

While the Trump administration described the mistaken removal as “an administrative error,” officials have continued to justify it by insisting Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang. His wife and attorneys have denied the allegations, saying he’s simply a construction worker and family man.

U.S. attorneys have asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes to keep Abrego Garcia in jail, describing him as a danger to the community and a flight risk. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys disagree, pointing out he was already wrongly detained in a notorious Salvadoran prison thanks to government error and arguing due process and “basic fairness” require him to be set free.

The charges against Abrego Garcia are human smuggling. But in their request to keep Abrego Garcia in jail, U.S. attorneys also accuse him of trafficking drugs and firearms and of abusing the women he transported, among other claims, although he is not charged with such crimes.

The U.S. attorneys also accuse Abrego Garcia of taking part in a murder in El Salvador. However, none of those allegations is part of the charges against him, and at his initial appearance June 6, the judge warned prosecutors she cannot detain someone based solely on allegations.

One of Abrego Garcia’s attorneys last week characterized the claims as a desperate attempt by the Trump administration to justify the mistaken deportation three months after the fact.

“There’s no way a jury is going to see the evidence and agree that this sheet metal worker is the leader of an international MS-13 smuggling conspiracy,” private attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said.

In a Wednesday court filing, Abrego Garcia’s public defenders argued the government is not even entitled to a detention hearing — much less detention — because the charges against him aren’t serious enough.

Although the maximum sentence for smuggling one person is 10 years, and Abrego Garcia is accused of transporting hundreds of people over nearly a decade, his defense attorneys point out there’s no minimum sentence. The average sentence for human smuggling in 2024 was just 15 months, according to court filings.

The decision to charge Abrego Garcia criminally prompted the resignation of Ben Schrader, who was chief of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. He posted about his departure on social media on the day of the indictment, writing, “It has been an incredible privilege to serve as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where the only job description I’ve ever known is to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons.”

He did not directly address the indictment and declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press. However, a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter confirmed the connection.

Although Abrego Garcia lives in Maryland, he’s being charged in Tennessee based on a May 2022 traffic stop for speeding in the state. The Tennessee Highway Patrol body camera video of the encounter that was released to the public last month shows a calm exchange between officers and Abrego Garcia. It also shows the officers discussing among themselves their suspicions of human smuggling before sending him on his way. One of the officers says, “He’s hauling these people for money.” Another says Abrego Garcia had $1,400 in an envelope.

Abrego Garcia was not charged with any offense at the traffic stop. Sandoval-Moshenberg, the private attorney, said in a statement after the video’s release that he saw no evidence of a crime in the footage.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit over Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation isn’t over. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have asked a federal judge in Maryland to impose fines against the Trump administration for contempt, arguing that it flagrantly ignored court orders forseveral weeks to return him. The Trump administration said it will ask the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it followed the judge’s order to return him to the U.S.

Loller, Mattise and Finley write for the Associated Press. Finley reported from Norfolk, Va.

US federal prosecutors have charged two Chinese nationals with smuggling a toxic fungus into the United States, which authorities claim could be turned into a “potential agroterrorism weapon”.

The charges against Jian Yunqing, 33, and Liu Zunyong, 34, two researchers from China, were unsealed by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan on Tuesday. The pair face additional charges of conspiracy, visa fraud and providing false statements to investigators.

Prosecutors allege that Liu smuggled the fungus, called Fusarium graminearum, into the US so he could carry out research at a University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend, Jian, worked.

Fusarium graminearum causes “head blight”, a disease in crops like wheat, barley, maize and rice, and is “responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year”, according to the charges.

The pathogen also poses a danger to humans and livestock, and can cause “vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects”.

The investigation was carried out by US Customs and Border Protection and the FBI, whose mandate includes investigating foreign and economic espionage as well as counterterrorism.

Jian was earlier arrested by the FBI and is due to appear in federal court this week, where her ties to the Chinese government are also under scrutiny at a time of increased paranoia within the US government about possible Chinese infiltration.

Jian allegedly received funding from the Chinese government to carry out research on the same toxic fungus in China, according to the charges.

The Associated Press news agency, citing the FBI, said that Liu was sent back to China from Detroit in July 2024 after airport customs authorities found the fungus in his backpack. He later admitted to bringing the material into the US to carry out research at the University of Michigan, where he had previously worked alongside his girlfriend, the AP said.

During their investigation, the FBI found an article on Liu’s phone titled “Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions”. Messages on the couple’s phones also indicated that Jian was aware of the smuggling scheme, and later lied to investigators about her knowledge.

It is unlikely that Liu will face extradition as the US does not have an extradition treaty with China.

FBI director Kash Patel claimed on X that China was “working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences”.

New… I can confirm that the FBI arrested a Chinese national within the United States who allegedly smuggled a dangerous biological pathogen into the country.

The individual, Yunqing Jian, is alleged to have smuggled a dangerous fungus called “Fusarium graminearum,” which is an…

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) June 3, 2025

The Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The University of Michigan on Tuesday issued a brief statement condemning “any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security, or undermine the university’s critical public mission”.

The case comes just a week after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to start “aggressively” revoking the visas of Chinese students in the US on national security grounds.

Targeted students include Chinese nationals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), an institution that counts about 100 million members. While some Chinese may join for ideological reasons, membership in the CCP comes with perks like access to better jobs and educational opportunities.

It is not uncommon for students from elite backgrounds, like those studying in the US, to also be members of the CCP.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously pledged to “firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests” of its students studying overseas following news of the visa crackdown.

A federal judge in Vermont on Wednesday released a Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher from immigration custody as she deals with a criminal charge of smuggling frog embryos into the United States.

Colleagues and academics testified on Kseniia Petrova’s behalf, saying she is doing valuable research to advance cures for cancer.

“It is excellent science,” Michael West, a scientist and entrepreneur in the biotech industry, testified on Petrova’s research papers. He said he does not know Petrova, but has become acquainted with her published work, citing one in which she explains that “mapping embryonic development [can produce] novel ways of intervening in the biology of regeneration and aging.”

West said that Petrova’s medical research skills are highly sought after and that he himself would hire her “in a heartbeat.”

Petrova, 30, is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Louisiana. She is expected to be brought to Massachusetts as early as Friday in preparation for a bail hearing next week on the smuggling charge, lawyers said in court.

“We are gratified that today’s hearing gave us the opportunity to present clear and convincing evidence that Kseniia Petrova was not carrying anything dangerous or unlawful, and that customs officers at Logan International Airport had no legal authority to revoke her visa or detain her,” Petrova’s lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, said in a statement. “At today’s hearing, we demonstrated that Kseniia is neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk, and does not belong in immigration detention.”

Petrova had been vacationing in France, where she stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples to be used for research.

As she passed through a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint in Boston Logan International Airport in February, Petrova was questioned about the samples. She told the Associated Press in an interview last month that she did not realize the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. After an interrogation, Petrova was told her visa was being canceled.

After being detained by immigration officials, she filed a petition in Vermont seeking her release. She was briefly detained in Vermont before she was brought to Louisiana.

Petrova was charged with smuggling earlier this month as U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss in Burlington, Vt., set the hearing date on her petition. Reiss ruled Wednesday that the immigration officers’ actions were unlawful, that Petrova didn’t present a danger, and that the embryos were non-living, non-hazardous and “posed a threat to no one.”

Romanovsky had asked Reiss to issue an order to stop the possibility of ICE re-detaining Petrova if she is also released from detention in Massachusetts.

Reiss said she was reluctant “to enjoin an executive agency from undertaking future actions which are uncertain” and would rely on U.S. Department of Justice attorney Jeffrey Hartman’s comments that the government has no intention at this time to rearrest Petrova.

Romanovsky had said Customs and Border Protection officials had no legal basis for canceling Petrova’s visa and detaining her.

The Department of Homeland Security had said in a statement on the social media platform X that Petrova was detained after “lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country.” They allege that messages on her phone “revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them.”

Harvard had said in a statement that the university “continues to monitor the situation.”

McCormack writes for the Associated Press.

May 20 (UPI) — Lithuania on Monday filed a case against Belarus in the International Court of Justice, accusing its southern neighbor of facilitating a large-scale smuggling scheme.

The filing initiates legal proceedings against Belarus in the World Court, based in The Hague.

“We are taking this case to the International Court of Justice to send a clear message: no state can use vulnerable people as political pawns without facing consequences under international law,” Lithuanian Justice Minister Rimantas Mockus said in a statement.

Lithuania specifically accused Belarus of violating the United Nations Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, which was adopted in 2000, to supplement the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

According to the application to the ICJ, the Baltic county accuses Belarus of “facilitating, supporting and enabling” the smuggling of migrants into the country while failing to implement smuggling protection measures at their shared border.

Vilnius also charges Minsk with failing to exchange information about smuggling with Lithuania’s border control agencies and neglecting to protect the rights of migrants.

“The smuggling of migrants through Belarus into Lithuania has caused serious harm to Lithuania’s sovereignty, security and public order, as well as to the rights and interests of the smuggled migrants themselves, who have been exposed to grave abuses in trying to reach Lithuanian territory,” Vilnius said.

“The large-scale smuggling of migrants has also overwhelmed Lithuania’s reception facilities and asylum systems, which has heavily affected Lithuania’s ability to respond to the migration crisis at the border.”

It said it has made “extensive efforts” to address the issue with Belarus, but that Belarus has “refused to engage in constructive and effective dialogue.”

Belarus not only continued to deny its responsibility under the U.N. protocol, it said, “but also the facts on the ground underlying those breaches,” it said.

Lithuania’s foreign ministry said the “unprecedented” flow of migrants from Belarus dates back to at least 2021, and that it has evidence confirming the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko is directly involved in the scheme.

According to the ministry, Belarusian state-owned companies have increased the number of flights from the Middle East and other regions and organized the issuance of visas and accommodations.

It said that when the migrants arrive in Belarus, many are taken to the Lithuanian border by security forces and are forced to cross into the country under what the ministry described as “dangerous and life-threatening conditions.”

Lithuania states that the smuggling scheme is an attempt to use migrants to retaliate against Vilnius and the European Union over their rejection of Lukashenko’s attacks on democracy and human rights abuses with sanctions.

Belarus has yet to respond to the development.

In December, the European Commission approved member states to adopt measures to country “the weaponization of migration by Russia and Belarus.”

It said Eastern EU countries that border both Belarus and Russia are at risk of migrants being used “as a political tool to destabilize our societies.”

The Baltic nation is seeking damages, including compensation for border reinforcement costs.

Lithuania has initiated legal proceedings against Belarus at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing its neighbour of orchestrating a refugee and migrant crisis by facilitating the smuggling of people across their border.

“The Belarusian regime must be held legally accountable for orchestrating the wave of illegal migration and the resulting human rights violations,” Lithuanian Justice Minister Rimantas Mockus said in a statement on Monday.

“We are taking this case to the International Court of Justice to send a clear message: no state can use vulnerable people as political pawns without facing consequences under international law.”

The case, submitted to the ICJ in The Hague, centres on alleged violations by Belarus of the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said attempts to resolve the issue through bilateral talks failed and it has evidence showing direct involvement by the Belarusian state in organising refugee and migrant flows, including a surge in flights from the Middle East operated by Belarusian state-owned airlines.

After landing in Belarus, many of the passengers were escorted to the Lithuanian border by Belarusian security forces and forced to cross illegally, Lithuanian officials said.

Lithuania also accused Belarus of refusing to cooperate with its border services in preventing irregular crossings and said it is seeking compensation through the ICJ for alleged damages caused, including costs related to border reinforcement.

Tensions between the two countries have simmered since 2021 when thousands of people – mostly from the Middle East and Africa – began arriving at the borders of Lithuania, Poland and Latvia from Belarus.

Belarus had previously deported Middle Eastern refugees and migrants with more than 400 Iraqis repatriated to Baghdad on a charter flight from Minsk in November 2021.

That same year, a Human Rights Watch report accused Belarus of manufacturing the crisis, finding that “accounts of violence, inhuman and degrading treatment and coercion by Belarusian border guards were commonplace”.

European Union officials have also accused Minsk of “weaponising” migration in an effort to destabilise the bloc. The claims are strongly denied by Belarus.

In December, the EU approved emergency measures allowing member states bordering Belarus and Russia to temporarily suspend asylum rights in cases in which migration is being manipulated for political ends.

May 14 (UPI) — A Russian Harvard University Medical School researcher held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since February has been arrested and charged with smuggling biological material into the United States.

The one count of smuggling goods into the United States was announced by the Justice Department on Wednesday, marking a dramatic escalation in the case that has garnered attention from academics.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint — which was dated Monday but made public Wednesday — Kseniia Petrova had frog embryos and embryonic samples in her possession when entering the country that she did not declare to immigration authorities.

The document states she arrived at Boston’s Logan International Airport from Paris on Feb. 16. A Customs and Border Protection canine alerted its handler to Petrova’s bag, which was removed and brought to an agricultural secondary inspection area for further screening where biological items were found.

When questioned about it, she allegedly denied carrying any biological material, but a search of a plastic bag she was carrying revealed additional biological material.

Under oath, she admitted that the items were biological material and said she was not sure if she was supposed to declare them on her arrival, the document states, adding that a search of her found text messages to the contrary.

“[I]f you bring samples or antibody back, make sure you get the permission,” one text message she received from an unidentified person said.

“What is your plan to pass the American … Customs with samples? This is the most delicate place of the trajectory,” another text message read.

A third message to Petrova’s phone had asked: “what is your plan for getting through customs with samples?”

“No plan yet,” Petrova allegedly replied, according to excerpts of the messages included in the court document. “I won’t be able to swallow them.”

If convicted, Petrova could face up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

“The rule of law does not have a carve out for educated individuals with pedigree,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a recorded statement.

The affidavit states her visa was canceled at the airport.

“The U.S. visa that Ms. Petrova was given — which was revoked by customs officials as a result of her conduct — is a privilege, not a right.”

Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, told The New York Times that Petrova’s J-1 visa was canceled and that deportation proceedings were initiated.

He said normally, a case like this would be treated as a minor infraction, and that filing the criminal charge three months after the alleged violation, “is clearly intended to make Kseniia look like a criminal to justify their efforts to deport her.”

Romanovsky also added that a Vermont hearing held earlier Wednesday had essentially established that his client was detained unlawfully and that the complaint had “blindsided” them, and Petrova’s transfer from immigration to criminal custody was “suspect” as it occurred right after a judge set a bail hearing, signaling she could be released.

During the Vermont hearing, U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss had questioned the government over the legality of its actions.

“Where does a Customs and Border Patrol officer have the authority on his or her own to revoke a visa?” Reiss asked, NBC News reported.

“You cannot be found inadmissible because of the customs violation.”

According to the affidavit, Petrova told customs that she is fearful of going back to Russia.

“She claimed she had protested the Russian Federation,” the affidavit states. “She provided no other details.”

In an opinion piece she wrote for The New York Times — and which was published Tuesday — Petrova states she had left Russia after being arrested for protesting its war in Ukraine.

The charge was filed as the Trump administration has been conducting a crackdown on immigration, including targeting foreign-born academics, particularly over their support for Palestine amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Some of those detained students have been released by judges who have ruled against the Trump administration’s use of immigration enforcement to seek to deport them.

Last week, White House senior adviser Stephen Miller said they are “actively looking at” suspending the writ of habeas corpus, which is the right to challenge the legality of a person’s detention by the government.