Kanno-Youngs writes: "Operation Cocoon aimed to disrupt international drug trafficking rings, but critics say it has left unwitting elderly 'mules' in foreign prisons."
Vic Stemberger, whose father's imprisonment in Spain has has shined a discomfiting light on a little-known operation run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, holds a photo of his parents at his family's home in Centreville, Va., May 25, 2021. (photo: Anna Moneymaker/NYT)
A Little-Known ICE Program Was Devised to Capture Drug Lords. Did It Snare Duped Seniors Instead?
07 June 21
Operation Cocoon aimed to disrupt international drug trafficking rings, but critics say it has left unwitting elderly “mules” in foreign prisons.
fter two decades in the military, after earning two master’s degrees and navigating a successful career as a corporate coach, Victor Stemberger seemed ready for a peaceful retirement. But he had a new venture in the works.
Mr. Stemberger, of Virginia, had a $10 million inheritance waiting for him, according to men claiming to be affiliated with the Nigerian Ministry of Finance. Through a dizzying web of more than 160 emails over the course of a year, Mr. Stemberger, then 76, somehow grew convinced.
The final step to collect his millions was a good-will gesture: He needed to embark on a whirlwind tour to several countries, stopping first in São Paulo, Brazil, to pick up a small package of gifts for government officials.
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