Posted on 06/29/2007 4:01:04 PM PDT by stan_sipple
Ten men suspected of being in the United States illegally have been arrested in Omaha on allegations they attempted to bribe a state employee to obtain drivers licenses and state identification cards, authorities announced Thursday.
Lt. Chuck Phillips of the Nebraska State Patrol in Omaha said the 10 men are in the Douglas County Detention Center awaiting prosecution in state court on the bribery charge, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Phillips said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department, which participated in the eight-month investigation, has placed detainers on the 10. That means the agency suspects the men were illegally in the country.
At least one of the men had an Omaha address. Many of the others were apparently residing in the eastern and southern United States, Phillips said.
The arrests were related to indictments earlier this month of five men in U.S. District Court in Omaha on allegations they harbored illegal aliens.
Tim Counts, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs, said the agency has also placed detainers on the five men, who were indicted June 19.
Phillips declined to answer detailed questions about the investigation. But much of that information was included in federal court papers attached to the indictment.
According to the papers, an employee at the Department of Motor Vehicles contacted the state patrol late last year about a man, later identified as Saidjon Ibragimov, of Omaha, who had offered the employee $100 for every drivers license he would request.
The papers do not identify the employee by name or gender. The employee cooperated with authorities throughout the investigation.
On Dec. 13, federal and state investigators monitored a call from the employee to Ibragimov in which the employee asked him if he was still interested in the drivers licenses, according to the court papers.
Ibragimov reportedly said he was, and he then offered $200 for each license.
In another call that day, Ibragimov told the employee that he was seeking the licenses for people with expired immigration documents or passports. And in a call Dec. 21, he told the employee he would bring Chinese, Mongolian and Tajik nationals from Chicago and the Nebraska area to the office to obtain licenses.
The employee in May met Ibragimov’s brother, identified as “Max,” and man later identified as Bakhtiyor Khalimov, whose immigration papers expired in February, at the DMV office, the papers said.
Max allegedly handed the employee a pink envelope with $200 inside, according to the papers.
Two days later, Khalimov passed his written and driving tests and was issued a license, the papers indicated.
The papers detailed several other instances of licenses issued to individuals thought to be illegal aliens.
In a June 11 meeting at an Omaha Burger King, Ibragimov handed the employee seven passports and $4,000, and told the employee he would bring the individuals to the office the following day, according to the papers.
None of the individuals had legal immigration status, the papers said.
Five of the individuals were arrested by the patrol June 13 after they left the DMV.
The 10 arrested on state bribery charges are: Fahriddin Zabarov, 26, of Tajikistan; Amit Patel Ashokhai, 23, of India; Vijaykumar Patel, 34, of India; Narinder Singh, 29, of India; Sumiit Garg, 42, of India; Ashokkumar Patel, 28, of India; Murtaza Ghulam, 28, Pakistan; Harnish Patel, 26, of India; Kaushik Amrutbhai-Patel, 25, of India; Hitesh Din Patel, 28, of India.
The five facing federal prosecution are: Saidjon Ibragimov, Nasimdzhon Ibragimov, Fahriddin Zabarov, Maqsud Dalerjoni and Neil Oberoi. Their ages and countries of origin were unavailable Thursday.
Maybe we need a BK Neighborhood Watch. What’s happening at your local Burger King?
I suppose this is good news, but an 8-month investigation to get 10 men may be a sign we have a problem.
They sound like Central Asian Muslims.
I was wondering myself. Boznian muz perhaps.
How will the Pity Police who shake their head every time we bust illegals spin this? Dont think we colonized Tajikistan anytime!
Demand a border fence! Build it NOW!! Beef up the border patrol and close our borders!
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Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!
Could be. That's why securing our borders is so vital. Anyone can sneak in. Why Bush and the Rinos are against providing a secure border is troubling.
Where did you get that idea?
Does the government have additional reasons to worry about them while they are in prison?
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