Gang-affiliated migrant mom accused of shipping guns to Colombia posts bond after NYC arrest: court docs
A gang-affiliated migrant mom accused of shipping high-powered guns to Colombia by hiding them in speakers and air conditioners walked free after posting bond, according to sources and court records.
Ingrid Vanessa Duque-Morales, 33 — who has ties to the El Mesa Y Pachelly transnational criminal organization — was arrested on an indictment at her daughter’s home on 191st Street near Northern Boulevard in Flushing Tuesday, law enforcement sources said.
But she was able to post bond and walked out of jail days after her arrest, despite officials looking to have her deported due to her illegal immigration status.
Duque-Morales is accused of taking part in the gun-smuggling activity from Oct. 14 to Nov. 11, 2020, using a Miami freight forwarder to ship them to the South American country, according to a court document filed in the Southern District of Florida.
The hidden weapons included parts of an AR-15 rifle, a Ruger 9mm firearm and a Scorpion EVO3 9mm Carbine firearm, according to the filing.
She was charged with several federal code violations, including conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, smuggling firearms from the US, delivery of a firearm to a common carrier without written notification, and possession of a firearm by an unlawful alien, the document states.
Duque-Morales was ordered detained during a removal hearing in federal court Tuesday.
Then on Thursday, she was ordered held on $100,000 bond during an appearance before Magistrate Judge Robert Levy — and with the help of two suretors, posted bond a short time later, according to a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
She will appear in federal court again on Monday to learn the status of the appeal of the bond by Florida federal prosecutors.
It was not immediately clear whether she could face deportation. It also wasn’t clear when and how she first entered the US.
The investigation was conducted by the NYPD’s Financial Crimes Task Force as well as Homeland Security investigations.
The NYPD referred any questions to the Southern District of Florida, and a spokesman for Homeland Security Investigations in Miami declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
