U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out a raid in Raleigh over the weekend they say nabbed a suspected member of violent prison gang from Venezuela.
Ricardo Granadillo-Padilla, 24, was taken into custody on Saturday. Wake County jail records show he was being held on a federal detainer. It's not clear if he's still in custody locally or was transferred to an ICE holding facility in Alamance County.
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The raid, according to ICE, also involved the U.S. Marshals Service. Aside from Grandadillo-Padilla, officers say the found a handgun, ammunition and 10 other Venezuelan nationals.
WRAL News asked federal and local authorities specifically where the raid took place, and whether any of the other people in the home were taken into custody. So far, those authorities have not answered those questions.
In announcing the arrest, ICE said Granadillo-Padilla is a suspected member of the Tren de Aragua gang but did not provide a mug shot.
Retired FBI agent Chris Swecker says the group has expanded its reach.
"They have spread out across the globe, primarily in South America, up through Panama, through Mexico, into the U.S.," Swecker said.
His arrest comes just days before federal authorities announced a new initiative to crack down on the gang. Thursday, INTERPOL Washington and Canda announced they are working together to fight what they call “one of the world’s most dangerous transnational criminal organizations.”
"By bringing our combined law enforcement resources to bear, the United States and Canada have ensured that TdA will find no safe harbor in either of our nations. Together, as partners, we will work in lockstep to disrupt and dismantle TdA and remove their violent criminal operatives from our communities," INTERPOL Washington Director Jeffrey Grimming said in a news release.
ICE agents also say Granadillo-Padilla is a suspect in a mass shooting in Chicago.
ICE has not released more details about that mass shooting, but WRAL News found unsolved shootings from February and December of last year.
The arrest warrant obtained by WRAL shows Granadillo-Padilla was wanted on federal charges for illegal entry into the United States when he crossed the border near El Paso, Texas, Oct. 1, 2022. He was paroled and then failed to show up for his immigration appointment scheduled on Sept. 12, 2024.
WRAL asked Swecker why Granadillo-Padilla may have stayed in Raleigh.
"Raleigh is a major transit point. It always has been for drug traffickers, because of I-85 and I-95 passing through and nearby," he replied.
Granadillo-Padilla has already appeared in federal court in Raleigh, where a magistrate judge signed an order to transfer the case to the federal court system in the Western District of Texas.