June 1, 2007, - 2:54 pm

Immigration Agents & the $500 Mill Gold Coin Haul

By
If you’re wondering why Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents aren’t spending all of their efforts and resources on enforcing immigration laws and stopping terrorist money-laundering, look no further than the multi-million dollar treasure discovered and recovered a couple of weeks ago from a colonial era shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean.
Although a Florida firm, Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., took the risk, spent the money, and recovered the 500,000 gold and silver coins, it may not get to keep them. Why?
Well, the Spanish government has filed suit in federal court, claiming the coins. And even had Spain not filed suit, you might have seen ICE agents storming the secret location of the coins, as well as Odyssey’s headquarters seizing the treasure and documents.


As I’ve written, has spent a good amount of ICE time and resources so that she can get invites to places like the Saudi Arabian Embassy. And she’s seized the legitimately gotten gains of Americans to do it.
Last year, the ICE Princess had her agents . The coins were from the 13th Century–an era before there even was a Saudi Arabia. And there is no proof that the coins are connected to the country–only to some non-descript part of the Arab world. Saudi Arabia did not even know the coins existed until a resourceful American tried to sell them on the Net.
And the Saudis never filed suit to establish ownership. Yet, Myers took the coins and gave them to her Saudi buddy, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, an admitted friend of Osama Bin Laden.
Then, there are the after reading about their sale at auction in USA Today. Those eggs were sent to the ChiComms.
Hmmm . . . The Islamist, pan-terrorist Saudis, the Communist Chinese, and pretty soon, Spain. Yup, that’s who far too many of your ICE agents are working for to “recover” property. But enforcing immigration law and stopping money laundering and smuggling, simply not as important.
Those things won’t get The ICE Princess an invitation for tea, falafel, and kefiyeh-garbed diplomacy at the nearest U.S.-hating embassy.
It’s bad enough that ICE agents are losing their Customs mission. Even worse is that playing gopher boy for despotic America-hating governments is the one Customs mission they still get to enforce.




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6 Responses

Good ole ICE. It seems you have no worries if you’re here in the U.S. illegally, but you better watch your ass if you’re a gold coin.

Rich B on June 1, 2007 at 5:22 pm

Antiquities smuggling and theft is a crime against the Customs Laws of the United States. Investigators at ICE are charged with investigating these crimes, and are experts in doing so. Special Agents are supposed to be neutral finders of facts; trusted agents who will help determine the truth, regardless of political pressures.
It is up to the criminal court system to determine guilt and innocence, based on the facts as the ICE Special Agent(a LUSCS expert investigator I imagine) uncovers during their investigation.
The politicization of ICE, of both the Customs enforcement and Immigration enforcement is the real cause for concern. Not the fact that ICE is executing its duty to investigate Customs violations.

CallofDuty on June 2, 2007 at 4:37 am

That wasn’t the point of Debbie’s post. Why isn’t ICE doing ALL of its assigned missions? Not just picking easy targets that won’t fight back or protest such as recovering or helping other countries recover coins. I have a sneaking suspiscion that the American citizens are more concerned about PEOPLE (possibly Jihadists) who are here illegaly than the status of gold coins. It’s a case of priorities.

Rich B on June 2, 2007 at 11:23 am

What is happening here is HQ ICE’s campaign of “spin doctors” on this site who are desperately trying to calm the fury and anger that this this site (by telling it like it is) has perpetuated.

ICE4EVER on June 2, 2007 at 11:09 pm

How come I have to forfeit MY property if I don’t claim it within a certain time limit, but there’s apparently no time limit for government? Our “freedom” is such an illusion; we are all peons and the government is a tyrant that can do whatever it wants.

steve ventry on June 3, 2007 at 3:39 pm

What a joke.
Spain plundered those gold coins from the Aztecs and Incas.
Maybe some enterprising attorney will sue Spain for the Genocide that occurred stealing the Indians gold and ask that there resources be returned.
ICE should be prosecuting employers making billions off of slave labor invading the USA.

ScottyDog on June 3, 2007 at 3:54 pm

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