The Boston office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that on September 3 it arrested Hasan Billa, a 56-year-old Albanian citizen and resident of Wolcott, during a special law enforcement operation.
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According to ICE authorities, Billa was unlawfully present in the United States. He is facing pending state-level charges related to a covert operation conducted on May 28 as part of an investigation into the exploitation of children in Hartford.
ICE documents and previous reports by the Hartford Police Department list the charges as criminal attempt to commit second-degree sexual assault, criminal attempt to sexually abuse a minor, and criminal attempt involving the risk of injury and sexual contact with a person under 16.
The operation was organized by the Hartford Police Department in cooperation with the FBI Task Force on Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking. As part of the operation, an undercover detective posed online as a 15-year-old girl.
Authorities said that three men, including Wolcott resident Billa Hasan, went to a designated address in Hartford believing they were going to meet a minor for sexual relations. One report described the location as the Best Western hotel on Brainard Road.
All three suspects were arrested without incident, and bail was initially set at $500,000 for each of them.
Local media reports at the time identified the arrested man as Billa Hasan, 56, while ICE later referred to him as Hasan Billa.
When the first reports were published in June, Hasan had not yet been charged. The criminal proceedings remain pending, and he has not been found guilty.
ICE Boston made the September 3 arrest public on social media on September 25, linking it to targeted operations carried out in Wolcott. The agency did not immediately provide further information about his immigration status, whether he is in ICE custody, or the next steps related to removal proceedings.
U.S. authorities have urged anyone with information about crimes against children to contact the Hartford Police Department or report anonymously.
