Fusion Center Supports DHS Component Investigation in North Carolina

North Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center, July 2013

In July 2013, two individuals acting suspicious near staging areas for the local Independence Day celebration were reported to the North Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAAC) by Morehead City Police Department (MCPD).  The ISAAC identified the subjects as two crew members of a shipping company who had absconded from a vessel a few days prior.  The ISAAC shared this information with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further investigation.  ICE and CBP notified the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as security officers from the shipping company and the subjects were subsequently detained, escorted back to their vessel, and allowed to depart the country with their visas revoked.

Fusion Centers Collaborate to Support Arrest of Individual Charged with Production of Child Pornography

Central Florida Intelligence Exchange, Tennessee Fusion Center, and Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center, June 2013

In June 2013, several phone calls across the Southeastern United States were made from a telephone belonging to an individual wanted for production of child pornography by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  ICE provided details of the wanted individual to the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange (CFIX) in Orlando and asked them to widely disseminate the information.  Based on the location where the phone calls were being made, the CFIX notified the Tennessee Fusion Center (TFC) and Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC) that the suspect may be in their area. These partners subsequently notified all relevant local law enforcement agencies in their area of responsibility.  As a direct result of this interstate information sharing, the suspect was located and arrested by the Georgia State Patrol. 

Fusion Centers Collaborate to Disrupt an Alleged Plot

Southwest Texas Fusion Center and Minnesota Fusion Center, May 2013 

A San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) law enforcement officer made contact with an individual that had ties to a Minnesota-based hate group known as the “Black Snake Militia.”  The SAPD officer reported this information to the Southwest Texas Fusion Center (SWTFC), where the report was reviewed and research was initiated on the individual and the associated group.  An updated report was then forwarded to SWTFC detectives assigned to San Antonio’s FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), who subsequently shared it with the Minnesota JTTF.

The SWTFC also shared the report via Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative channels and with the Minnesota Fusion Center.  The Minnesota Fusion Center in turn contacted the Montevideo Police Department and Chippewa Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota, who initiated coordination between local law enforcement regarding a potential domestic threat in their jurisdiction.  The following day, the FBI—with assistance from the Bloomington, MN Police Department Bomb Squad— executed a search warrant of the alleged militia leader’s home that uncovered Molotov cocktails, suspected pipe bombs, and firearms, and ultimately led to the alleged leader’s arrest.

Fusion Centers Collaborate to Locate and Apprehend a Wanted Fugitive

Multiple Fusion Centers, January 2013

In January 2013, Alaska State Troopers informed the Alaska Information Analysis Center (AKIAC) that a fugitive wanted for multiple felony charges in Alaska, including Sexual Assault, Kidnapping, and Assault, was at large, and may have departed the state.  Working with TSA, AKIAC analysts determined that the subject had departed Anchorage, AK on a commercial flight and was currently en route to Memphis via Minneapolis. Coordinating through the Tennessee Fusion Center (TFC) and the Memphis TSA, the AKIAC interfaced directly with the Memphis International Airport Police Department, providing an extraditable warrant and National Crime Information Center (NCIC) information concerning the subject. Within two hours of AKIAC’s notification, the subject was in custody of the Memphis International Airport Police Department.  This example demonstrates the importance of connectivity between the National Network of Fusion Centers and their Federal, state, and local partners.  Through the sharing of information in real-time, these partners were able to locate and apprehend a wanted fugitive.