ND Task Force Arrests Mexican National in Bakken
Steve Hallstrom
Special to The Farmer
A multi-agency federal and state task force has arrested an undocumented Mexican national following a targeted investigation into the possession of child sexual abuse material in Mountrail County.
The suspect, identified as Hugo Lopez-Diaz, was taken into custody on February 6, after federal agents executed a search warrant at a local residence in Stanley. According to a formal media release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the operation involved agents from the U.S. Border Patrol’s Grand Forks Sector, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Authorities say that electronic devices seized during the search were examined by forensic specialists and a phone belonging to Lopez-Diaz contained child sexual abuse material. This led to immediate charges from the state of North Dakota.
Lopez-Diaz is currently awaiting prosecution, with the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office is expected to lead the legal proceedings.
The arrest comes as part of a significant increase in interior enforcement activity across what DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has labeled the “High North” sectors. According to recent CBP Enforcement data, the Grand Forks Sector - which covers all of North Dakota and Minnesota - recorded 434 apprehensions in December 2025 alone. While northern border encounters remain lower than those on the southern border, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted in a February 2026 report that northern border apprehensions had more than tripled between 2019 and 2024, prompting a surge in federal resources to the region under the current administration.
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