CRIME Many 7-11's on Long Island and in VA raided; smuggling in illegal slaves from Pakistan

Federal, local authorities raid nearly a dozen 7-Elevens on New York's Long Island in human smuggling probe, officials say - @NBCNewYork

1 min ago from www.nbcnewyork.com by editor

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Feds Raid Nearly a Dozen L.I. 7-Elevens in Human Smuggling Probe: Officials

Workers believed to have been brought to the country illegally were allegedly forced to live in housing provided by the franchise owners

Monday, Jun 17, 2013 | Updated 8:05 AM EDT

Federal agents and police raided nearly a dozen 7-Eleven stores across Long Island early Monday as part of an identity theft and human smuggling investigation, law enforcement officials say.

According to investigators, some owners of the raided franchises allegedly helped smuggle in workers from Pakistan to work in their stores. Those workers were then allegedly forced to live in housing provided by the franchise owners, authorities said.

Five store owners were arrested Monday in the probe and are expected to face identity theft, money laundering and other charges, law enforcement officials said. Some of those being charged are also accused of ripping off and stealing from 7-Eleven corporate headquarters, authorities said.

More than a dozen workers believed to have been brought to the country illegally were taken into immigration custody, investigators said.

Suffolk County police, federal Homeland Security investigators, IRS and NYPD officers were seen entering several of the store locations across Long Island Monday.

Several 7-Eleven franchises in Virginia were also targeted in the probe.

U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch along with representatives from several other law enforcement agencies are expected to announce details of the investigation at a news conference in Brooklyn later Monday.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loca...211793521.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_NYBrand

What I like to know is just how were they smuggled in.

smuggling in illegal slaves from Pakistan......

Were do the legal slaves come from???
OH! We are the legal slaves.

They got one near me!

Feds arrest owners, managers in 7-Eleven raids
June 17, 2013 by ROBERT E. KESSLER / robert.kessler@newsday.com

Homeland Security and State Police at the 7-11

Dozens of federal agents fanned out on Long Island at dawn Monday seeking to arrest owners and managers of about 10 7-Eleven convenience stores on charges of knowingly concealing and employing undocumented workers, as part of a nationwide sweep involving hundreds of agents, sources said.

The targets on Long Island also are charged with making more than $150 million by cheating the undocumented employees out of much of the salaries they were entitled to and profiting by running their stores illegally, the sources familiar with the investigation said.

The raids are part of a much larger national investigation, coordinated by federal officials on Long Island and involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raiding a number of 7-Elevens in other states, including Virginia, to determine the legal status and employment conditions of employees there, the sources said.

While undocumented workers may be picked up for questioning, no criminal arrests are planned against them, except possibly for being in the country illegally, the sources said.
The overall investigation is being coordinated by the office of Eastern District U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, who is scheduled to hold a news conference in Brooklyn late this morning on the situation, the sources said.

The government also plans to seize the 10 or so 7-Elevens on Long Island allegedly involved in the case, most of them in Suffolk County, and several more stores in Virginia that are owned and operated by the same people targeted on Long Island, the sources said.

Some of the 7-Eleven stores on Long Island at which agents will be questioning employees include 81 Shepard Lane in Smithtown, 128 East Main St. in Huntington, 128 Central Ave., Islip Terrace, and 2715 Union Blvd. in Islip.

Federal agents could be seen early Monday morning outside the home of the alleged ring leader, Farrukh Baig, of St. James.

The charges will include allegedly harboring illegal aliens, and fraud, for illegally pocketing part of the employees' salaries, the sources said. Other charges may involve identity theft, for using the names and Social Security numbers of unsuspecting real people to help collect some of the pay of the undocumented employees, the sources said.

Many of the undocumented workers were held in conditions, if not that of slavery, something close to it, the sources said.
A typical undocumented worker was forced to work up to 100 hours a week, but only paid for about half of that, with the owners and managers pocketing the rest, the sources said. In many cases, the workers also allegedly had to live in housing also owned by the store owner, and had their rent deducted from their already shorted salary, the sources said.

Many of the owners, managers, and undocumented workers were originally from Southeast Asia, the sources said.
Most 7-Eleven stores are not owned by the Dallas-based corporation, but are franchise operations, as were those allegedly involved in Monday's case.

There are 7,600 7-Elevens in the United States, according to the company's website.
Those stores targeted in Monday's case are only a fraction of the 7-Elevens on Long Island.
On Long Island, there are 98 7-Elevens in Suffolk and 62 in Nassau, according to Dun & Bradstreet.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/...nagers-in-7-eleven-raids-1.5499818?print=true

Another reason to pass immigration reform. We need to make these slaves legal. Oh.... wait....

Hmmm.... a 7-11 that had been at a very nice location several miles from me for many years suddenly folded up their tents and scurried off into the night recently. Wonder if they got wind that the jig was up. I only ever went in there twice and the people (middle-easterners) were rude.

Good riddance.

I'll bet there are a lot more of these rats in the US. Getting illegals into the US is laughably easy. With INS pretty much ordered to stand down and not do their job, the country is a haven for illegal parasites sucking off the American tax payer.

They come here, commit crimes, exploit the unwary (ID theft) and probably suck off of social programs. They are scum and ALL of them should be sent back where they came from if they don't have a valid current visa and aren't working on citizenship.

Publius said:

What I like to know is just how were they smuggled in.

Click to expand...

Slave trade still continues to operate in the North. Say it aint so.

Dex said:

I'll bet there are a lot more of these rats in the US. Getting illegals into the US is laughably easy. With INS pretty much ordered to stand down and not do their job, the country is a haven for illegal parasites sucking off the American tax payer.

They come here, commit crimes, exploit the unwary (ID theft) and probably suck off of social programs. They are scum and ALL of them should be sent back where they came from if they don't have a valid current visa and aren't working on citizenship.

Click to expand...

You're so right.
What surprises me is the fact that they are going after any Muslims, considering how Obama defends and pampers them.

Maybe the Feds waited until he left the country before they started rounding them up.

Sully

mzkitty said:

Hmmm.... a 7-11 that had been at a very nice location several miles from me for many years suddenly folded up their tents and scurried off into the night recently. Wonder if they got wind that the jig was up. I only ever went in there twice and the people (middle-easterners) were rude.

Good riddance.

Click to expand...

I see these in delivering. Some hardly know English. I can believe they are brought in, not knowing English are made to work for hardly anything.

Nine are indicted & 14 7-Eleven stores secured as feds shut down scheme to exploit Pakistan immigrants - @AP

1 hour ago from news.yahoo.com by editor

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NY, Va. 7-Eleven stores raided as part of US probe
Associated Press – 1 hr 43 mins ago


NEW YORK (AP) — Nine owners and managers of 7-Eleven stores on Long Island and in Virginia were charged on Monday in a scheme to exploit immigrants from Pakistan, including some business-owners who used Social Security numbers of children and dead people on the workers' paystubs.

Most of the defendants were arrested early Monday as federal authorities raided 14 franchise stores. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were inspecting other stores across the country for similar infractions.

The defendants "not only systematically employed illegal immigrants, they concealed their crimes by raiding the cradle and grave to steal the identities of children and even the dead," U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement.

The employers stole their workers' wages and housed them in illegal boarding rooms, "in effect creating a modern day plantation system," Lynch added.

The defendants were to appear in court later in the day to face wire fraud conspiracy, identity theft and other charges. They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy.

A 7-Eleven spokesman said the company was cooperating with the investigation, but declined further comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-va-7-eleven-stores-raided-part-us-133541055.html

It's not just in the northeast. Houston is said to be the center of the slave trade in North America. There is a huge network of secular as well as church affiliated outreach volunteers as well as professional authorities trying to deal with it. Apparently success is hard to come by.

The chinese restaurants around here bring large numbers of workers in and house them like that.They use vans to take them to and from work and they all live in the same place.

I know missionaries in a very rural location very high up in the mts in a Tzotzil speaking area of southern Mexico. Recently the police in that area stopped a suspicious truck and found 60 dehydrated and starved illegals in the back from Iran, Africa and China. The driver was tied to a tree and the passengers were locked in a school pending the arrival of Mexican Immigration, which given the remoteness of the location, probably took a while..