A shocking federal investigation has revealed that a suburban Chicago police officer had been living in the United States illegally for over a decade before his arrest this week.
The revelation came during an immigration enforcement operation that has since expanded to uncover two unrelated but equally troubling cases involving a Massachusetts teenager with alleged gang ties and a Louisiana man accused of participating in the 2023 Hamas-led massacre in Israel.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took 33-year-old Radule Bojovic into custody Wednesday in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
Bojovic, a native of Montenegro, was working as an officer with the Hanover Park Police Department when he was detained as part of Operation Midway Blitz.
According to immigration officials, Bojovic overstayed his B-2 tourist visa, by over a decade.
Authorities said Bojovic identified himself as a police officer at the time of his arrest and presented an employee identification card confirming his position.
He allegedly told ICE agents he was not armed because he was only permitted to carry a firearm while on duty.
“Illegal aliens are prohibited from owning or possessing firearms — full stop,” said Sam Olson, director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Chicago Field Office.
“This is the second known instance in recent months of a local police department hiring an illegal alien and unlawfully issuing him a firearm while on duty in violation of federal law.”
The agency referenced a similar case from July, when Maine police officer Jon Luke Evans, a Jamaican national, was arrested by immigration authorities. Evans voluntarily agreed to depart the country following his detention.
As Bojovic’s case drew national attention, federal officials in Washington confirmed that ICE had been simultaneously involved in the arrest of a 13-year-old boy in Massachusetts whose detention sparked widespread backlash.
The Trump administration has since alleged the teenager is a member of a violent criminal gang.
According to court documents, Arthur Yuri De Almeida Silva Berto was taken into custody on October 9 after a classmate reported that he had flashed a concealed gun at school.
The classmate told authorities Berto was searching for a student he had recently fought with and claimed he intended to “shoot and kill him.”
When police detained the boy, he was allegedly carrying a 5-inch Milwaukee knife.
The arrest drew immediate criticism from immigration advocates and media outlets after Berto’s mother told reporters she and her son were awaiting a decision on their asylum claim.
However, the Department of Homeland Security later issued a detailed statement describing the boy as a suspected member of the “33” gang.
Officials said he had been linked to 11 prior police complaints involving theft, vandalism, fighting, breaking and entering, and so-called “flash mob” shoplifting incidents.
The DHS said Berto entered the U.S. with his family through the Arizona border in September 2021.
He reportedly came to the attention of law enforcement in June 2024, when police discovered him with known gang members during a disturbance call.
In July, he was allegedly caught on surveillance video stealing bicycles and a cellphone. By March 2025, police classified him as a “high-risk juvenile.”
Authorities believe he was again caught on camera in May participating in a “flash-mob-style” convenience store theft involving multiple gang members.
“Here are the facts: This individual and suspected gang member posed a public safety threat with an extensive rap sheet, including violent assault with a dangerous weapon, battery, breaking and entering and destruction of property,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, federal law enforcement is restoring common sense and law and order to our streets. This public safety threat will stay in juvenile detention pending further proceedings,” McLaughlin said.
While immigration officials continued to defend the detention of the Massachusetts teenager, a third case emerged from Louisiana with international implications.
Federal prosecutors accused 33-year-old Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi of entering the United States under false pretenses after allegedly taking part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday, al-Muhtadi is accused of helping organize armed fighters in Gaza, coordinating movements during the initial assault, and personally crossing into Israel shortly after the first wave of Hamas militants.
— Huge Breaking News: Louisiana Man Joined Hamas for October 7th Massacre —
Federal prosecutors in Louisiana accused a man of participating in the Hamas-led October 2023 attack on Israel and then traveling to the United States on a fraudulent visa, according to a criminal… pic.twitter.com/aN1oumEHxe
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) October 17, 2025
Communications recovered by investigators show al-Muhtadi issuing directives such as “bring the rifles,” “get ready,” and asking for ammunition and bulletproof vests.
The complaint, reviewed by the FBI, allegedly showed that his cell phone connected to an Israeli network tower on the morning of the attack.
That same day, 60 civilians, including several American citizens, were killed at a nearby kibbutz.
Prosecutors have not charged al-Muhtadi with homicide, but evidence reportedly puts him in close proximity to the event and in contact with its perpetrators.
Investigators say al-Muhtadi later entered the U.S. under the alias Mahmoud Almuhtadi, falsely claiming he had no ties to militant or paramilitary organizations.
He was granted an immigrant visa and entered through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in September 2024.
Authorities said he later posted photos of himself on social media posing with a Glock handgun in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
By May 2025, he had relocated to Lafayette, Louisiana, where he worked in a restaurant before being arrested. Federal agents have since taken him into custody pending trial.
