A Dominican woman who was previously convicted of the actions of deadly opioids cried when arrested last week by federal law enforcement.
Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, 36, was taken in custody in Philadelphia thanks to a joint operation of agents with immigration and customs enforcement (ICE), the US Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
ICE issued Basora-Gonzalez, who was deported for the first time more than four years ago, a notification of the intention of recovering a definitive order of removal on 12 March.
On the same day, the agency obtained an arrest warrant and a criminal complaint from an American magistrate judge before handing it over to the American Marshals.
She will remain in federal detention pending charges for return after deportation in the eastern district of Pennsylvania.
The first brush of Basora-Gonzalez with the law came in June 2019, when the Drug Enforcement Administration accused her of attempted possession with the intention of distributing 40 grams or more fentanyl.
Court reports show that two other men were accused of the same crime together with her, whereby one of them was later convicted of possession with the intention of distributing more than 100 grams of heroin.
On March 12, 2020, Basora-Gonzalez pleaded guilty of the Fentanyl declarations and was sentenced to 12 months in prison and four years of accompanied release.
Basora-Gonzalez was seen during her arrest. She stays in the federal detention while her case goes through the court
Before she could serve her full sentence, Ice submitted an immigration retainer and deported her back to the Dominican Republic on October 6, 2020.
It is unclear when she returned to the United States, but according to a statement submitted to the court, a confidential source announced that she was back in the country on 7 March 2025.
Ice Deportation Officer Alec Brown said this source told him that Basora-Gonzalez worked as a cook in La Tierra del Caribe Restaurant in North Philadelphia and arrived at 8 am every day.
Ice Agents approached her after she confirmed that she has adjusted the physical description of the source, according to the statement.
Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, 36, was depicted during her arrest on 12 March before the United States coming in illegally after being deported in March 2020
They then arrested her and compared her fingerprints with those who were submitted for her in the FBI database, and they agreed.
The Court of Basora-Gonzalez said a lawyer said that she should not be held prior to her trial, with the argument that the illegal return of return did not mean that she was a risk risk.
In a Monday application, the government replied by saying that its earlier drug trafficking convictions confirm the conclusion that pretrial detention is required here. '
The government also said that Basora-Gonzalez Ice said that she has no spouse, children or other kinds of community ties in Philadelphia.
“This case is suitable for detention … Due to the criminal record of the suspect, lack of community ties, status as an irreparable escape risk and lack of respect for earlier judicial orders,” wrote officers of justice.
