FBI Houston

⚽ For well over a year, FBI Houston, and dozens of our partner agencies, have been prepping for the upcoming #FIFAWorldCup matches that start in Houston next month. Public safety is our priority. It should be yours, too. #WeAreHouston

All in a day's work: This is what #FBI Houston, @DEAHoustonDiv, @HoustonPolice, @HCSOTexas, and @TxDPSsoutheast seized this week from a Houston location with cartel ties: ▪️30+ firearms, including AK-style and AR-style rifles and “switches” ▪️30+ kilos of meth plus other narcotics ▪️Some 7,500 Xanax pills ▪️high-value jewelry ▪️bulk cash ▪️2 arrests Working together to make our community safer.

This weekend is the last chance for high school students to apply for our Teen Academy before the application closes on May 4! Learn more about this exciting once-a-year opportunity and apply here: ow.ly/n9A350YNvBg

💻 Cyber threats are evolving, and so should your defenses. From hijacked networks to cryptocurrency scams, #YourFBI Cyber Division is here to protect you. Learn how to protect yourself: fbi.gov/investigate/cy….

#OTD 90 years ago, former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover personally arrested notorious gangster Alvin Karpis, aka "Public Enemy Number One." Karpis was the brains of the Barker/Karpis Gang and remained elusive to law enforcement until April 1936, when word came that "Old Creepy" was in New Orleans. Hoover flew overnight to join the raid team, and they sketched out an arrest plan on a chalkboard. Once in custody, Hoover escorted Karpis to Minnesota to face kidnapping charges. Read more about the takedown at fbi.gov/history/famous…

This National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the #FBI urges all parents and caregivers to take time to learn about the risk that sextortion poses to America's youth. Find out how you can help protect the next generation from online predators at ow.ly/1mbB50YRMI5. Talk to your kids about it, too. #NCAPM

🟥 BREAKING Two Houston-area men have been sentenced to life in federal prison for their murder-for-hire plot against the wrong man. Michael Seery and Ricardo Obando Jr. shot at the victim several times as he was driving to work along the Grand Parkway on Feb. 4, 2025. Fortunately, the victim survived and turned out to be the pair's wrong target. Both men will now spend the rest of their life in prison. @HCSOTexas

Know a high school student interested in learning how the FBI investigates violent crime, terrorism, and espionage? Encourage them to apply to our Teen Academy scheduled for June 10-11, 2026 at FBI Houston's field office. Learn more here: ow.ly/n9A350YNvBg

A Magnolia, TX man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for extorting more than 50 children and young women for nude images and videos. Andrew Venegas, 26, exploited girls as young as 12 years old using various online aliases. He convinced his victims to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He would use the CSAM to blackmail the victims into creating and sending more. If not, he threatened to publish the images and share them with the victim’s family and friends. FBI Houston, @FBIWFO, and @ArlingtonVaPD investigated.

These headlines highlight just a fraction of the work FBI field offices across the country do every day to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. These headlines are possible thanks to the public who speaks up when they know something or see something and when we gather and share intelligence with our law enforcement partners everywhere. Public safety is everyone's responsibility. @fbicharlotte

An investigation by FBI Houston's Violent Crimes Against Children team results in a 27-year sentence for 27-year-old Victor Zuniga. Zuniga exchanged multiple messages discussing having sex with minors and received videos and images of child sexual abuse material. Zuniga spent more than a year attempting to arrange an in-person meeting to facilitate the sexual abuse of a toddler. FBI Houston thanks the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation whose tip prompted the investigation in December 2023.

#BREAKING A prolific Chinese state-sponsored hacker has been extradited from Italy. Xu Zewei, 34, appeared in a Houston federal court this morning. He's accused of stealing, at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security, COVID-19 Research and participating in the exploitation of Microsoft Exchange server vulnerabilities, known as the ‘HAFNIUM’ intrusion campaign that compromised thousands of computers worldwide. #FBI Houston thanks the @commissariatops for its partnership in this case. ow.ly/C7g150YQJ3b

🟥 Drones near Houston Stadium? That's a red card. 🚫 World Cup venues and fan festivals are No Drone Zones. 🙅‍♂️ If you fly drones illegally, you will be prosecuted. #FIFAWorldCup

"Allstar JR" allegedly opened fire at a Houston restaurant earlier this month and is now in federal custody after being arrested in Detroit for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Jeremy Christopher Ford made his initial appearance in Detroit today. FBI Houston thanks @fbidetroit and @houstonpolice for their role in this investigation. justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/a…

A fast-moving, multistate FBI investigation led to the arrests of one adult and one juvenile accused of planning an attack at a Jewish Day School in Houston, Texas. 18-year-old Angela Hicks is currently facing two state charges brought by the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in Lexington, North Carolina. A juvenile was charged in Harris County, Texas. The FBI Charlotte Joint Terrorism Task Force began the investigation Tuesday evening after a tip to a North Carolina law enforcement agency. This is an exceptional example of when you see something concerning, you say something to law enforcement. We also want to recognize our partners at @FBIHouston and in the Jewish community in North Carolina, Texas, and nationwide, including the Jewish Federation for their assistance. The joint FBI multistate investigation is ongoing. myfox8.com/news/north-car…

Two Salvadoran nationals and MS-13 gang members will spend decades in federal prison for their brutal crimes. Edgardo Martinez-Rodriguez aka Largo, 35, got 50 years and Wilman Rivas-Guido aka Inquieto, 30, received 45 years. Six others were previously sentenced. All of them were in the U.S. illegally. FBI Houston and HSI investigated: ow.ly/W7G850YO5fa

Know a high school student interested in learning how the FBI investigates violent crime, terrorism, and espionage? Encourage them to apply to our Teen Academy scheduled for June 10-11, 2026 at FBI Houston's field office. Learn more here: ow.ly/n9A350YNvBg

#BREAKING Patrick Tran of Houston has been sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting hundreds of underage girls for more than a decade. At the time of his arrest in 2021, this case was one of FBI Houston's first and most prolific sextortion cases.

Self-proclaimed Houston gang member is convicted of drug trafficking & firearm charges. It took a federal jury some 90 minutes to find Todd McCoy, 34, guilty. McCoy dealt out of a motel on S. Main Street. FBI Houston and @HoustonPolice investigated. ow.ly/O3Yr50YMIRi

Self-proclaimed Houston gang member is convicted of drug trafficking & firearm charges. It took a federal jury some 90 minutes to find Todd McCoy, 34, guilty. McCoy dealt out of a motel on S. Main Street. FBI Houston and @HoustonPolice investigated. ow.ly/O3Yr50YMIRi