Federal, local authorities arrest Montgomery County, Pa., fugitive at PHL Airport

PHILADELPHIA - Homeland Security Investigations agents and Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Wenceslao Boccelli Vargas, 30, on Tuesday at Philadelphia International Airport on Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, charges.

The Abington Township, Pennsylvania, Police Department issued a full extradition warrant for Vargas, of Philadelphia, on a felony charge of manufacture, deliver, or possess with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, and misdemeanor charges of corruption of minors and selling or furnishing liquor or malt or brewed beverages to minors.

HSI agents identified Vargas as an airport employee and coordinated with CBP officers to arrest Vargas when he reported to CBP to address a concern with his airport badge customs seal. A customs seal, issued by CBP, grants vetted airport employees unescorted access to Customs Security Areas and federal inspection zones at international airports.

HSI agents and an Abington Township Police officer detailed to the Homeland Security Task Force took custody of Vargas and departed CBP's inspection station.

"Customs and Border Protection officers are committed to working with our homeland security task force partners to identify wanted and dangerous fugitives, and especially those who allegedly victimize minors, and return them to justice," said Elliot N. Ortiz, CBP's area port director in Philadelphia.

Criminal charges are merely accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

CBP's border security mission is led at our nation's Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation's safety and economic vitality.

Learn more at www.CBP.gov.

Follow the Director of CBP's Baltimore Field Office on X @DFOBaltimore and CBP's Office of Field Operations on Instagram @cbpfieldops.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 70,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air and on the seas. We enforce safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration and trust.

• Topics
• Arrests
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• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Office of Field Operations