US allows accused in $100-million jewellery heist to leave country: 'Loophole is bigger'

Heist suspect removed from US as trial awaited. (Image credit: Getty images)

• Suspect in $100M jewellery heist deported, avoiding US trial and possible jail
• Prosecutors unaware ICE detained Jeson Flores before deportation
• Judge denied voluntary departure; Flores deported to Ecuador.

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US Federal immigration authorities permitted a suspect in a $100-million jewellery heist to deport himself to South America in December, avoiding a trial. Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores was deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month, frustrating prosecutors who wanted him jailed after a trial.

Jeson Flores, along with six others, was charged last year with allegedly stealing $100 million in gold and jewellery from a Brinks truck in July 2022. Flores pleaded not guilty and was released on bail in 2025.

According to a Fox News report, he faces 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Court filings from his defense attorneys reveal Flores was taken into ICE custody in September 2025, even though he was a lawful permanent resident and released on bail.

According to the court records, Flores Flores was granted bond in August but was later taken into ICE custody under a detainer.

Federal prosecutors said they were unaware that Flores was taken into custody by ICE.

During an immigration hearing, Flores requested voluntary departure to Chile on December 16, 2025. The judge rejected his self-deportation application and ordered his removal, after which he was deported to Ecuador.

The decision shocked federal prosecutors seeking to jail Flores over the $100 million heist.

According to The Guardian, prosecutors said they followed standard procedure by letting the civil immigration process proceed independently. “Prosecutors are supposed to allow the civil immigration process to play out independently while criminal charges are pending.”

“That is exactly what they did in this case – unwittingly to defendant’s benefit in that he will now avoid trial, and any potential conviction and sentence, unless and until he returns to the United States.”

The incident triggered widespread discussion on social media, with users expressing shock and questioning how a suspect was allowed to leave the country in such a high-profile case.

One user wrote, “So the system managed to lose a $100M suspect… on purpose. More instead like an enforcement, that’s a whole like an exit strategy.”

Another commented, “If 'voluntary departure' stops a $100M trial, the loophole is bigger than the crime.”

A third user wrote, “Planned obsolescence weaponised incompetence incoming through policy makers to drive draconian dictation.”