CBP Buffalo Field Operations Have Busy Weekend Making Several Significant Arrests

April 19, 2010 - Buffalo, N.Y. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Buffalo Field Office, is reporting several significant arrests and seizures during the past three days, including the arrest of an imposter.

Officers arrested 35-year-old Saed Olabisi King on Saturday, April 17, at the Rainbow Bridge for making a false claim to U.S. citizenship. The subject disclosed that he made a wrong turn and had no intentions of crossing the bridge. He claimed to be a U.S. citizen, but lacked any official identification. After further questioning and research by CBP officers, it was determined that the man was actually a citizen of Nigeria and was assuming the identity of another person. Federal prosecution was accepted by the Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York for false claim to U.S. citizenship and making false statements to a federal officer.

Arrested on April 18, at the Rainbow Bridge was a 33-year-old Canadian citizen, Giedrius Kesminas. He faces federal charges of attempted re-entry after removal. Mr. Kesminas has previously been removed from the United States due to several immigration violations. On this date, Mr. Kesminas claimed that he was destined to the shopping mall with his friends, and claimed to have forgotten about his previous violations.

Arrested on April 18, at the Champlain port of entry was 63-year-old Carmine Mignone, a U.S. citizen from Bethlehem, Conn. Mr. Mignone was attempting to smuggle 16 pounds of marijuana in the spare tire of his pick-up truck. A CBP Field Operations K9 detector dog alerted on the vehicle as it was passing through the primary inspection. Additional searches by officers uncovered the marijuana secreted in the spare tire. Mr. Mignone was arrested by CBP officers and was turned over to the custody of the Clinton County Sheriff’s deputies for local prosecution.