The Vineyard Gazette – Martha's Vineyard News

Federal law enforcement authorities have taken into custody a Brazilian man with previous gun and drug charges here on the island after he allegedly entered the country illegally.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Gustavo Mroczkoski in Oak Bluffs on September 17, the agency said in a statement Friday. The arrest is the fourth on the Vineyard in two months.

According to police reports, Mr. Mroczkoski, 28, was arrested by Edgartown police in March as part of a drug investigation. Police searched Mroczkoski's home on 10th Avenue in Edgartown and found 3.5 grams of a substance believed to be cocaine, as well as pills and ammunition.

He was initially charged in Edgartown District Court with illegal possession of ammunition and drugs and later arraigned in Dukes County Superior Court.

Mr. Mroczkoski pleaded not guilty to his charges in July and his bail was set at $50,000.

Before coming to the island, Mroczkoski entered the United States illegally near San Luiz, Arizona, in 2021 and was arrested by border patrol agents, according to ICE. He was released on recognizance.

Mr. Mroczkoski remains in ICE custody and a court hearing on the island is scheduled for later this month.

ICE has been busy in the area recently. In addition to the Vineyard arrests, officers also recently took five men into custody on Nantucket.

“[ICE] We will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by relentlessly pursuing, arresting and deporting serious non-citizen offenders,” said Patricia Hyde, ICE’s regional field director for deportation operations.