Thread: Bus passengers get prison in Texas cash smuggling case

Bus passengers get prison in Texas cash smuggling case

Jared Taylor
Reuters
9:38 p.m. CST, January 24, 2012

McALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - A federal judge sentenced a busload of passengers to prison terms of up to three years for their role in a foiled smuggling operation to ferry more than $3.1 million in cash into Mexico, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said on Tuesday.

The sentences came after federal agents stopped a southbound commercial bus at the Hidalgo, Texas international bridge, about 240 miles south of San Antonio, in September 2010.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers searched 17 pieces of luggage on the bus and found cash stuffed inside deflated Coleman air mattresses packed in each bag, a criminal complaint said.

Agents seized $3.19 million in cash from the bags and arrested all 13 passengers aboard the bus.

The passengers all admitted to their role in the smuggling ring, saying they were recruited to move the cash into Mexico. They expected to be paid as much as $8,000 to courier the currency across the border.

All but one of the convicted passengers had been living in and around Atlanta when they were recruited to transport the bags, prosecutors said. There was no immediate word on what the money was to be used for.

A federal judge handed down sentences that ranged from time served to three years in federal prison. Seven Mexican nationals convicted in the scheme face deportation. One passenger, Jonathan Nathan Gaona, 21, of Yadkinville, North Carolina, failed to appear for sentencing and was a fugitive.

Beyond firearms and weapons from the United States that fall into Mexican drug cartels' hands, federal authorities in recent years say they have stepped up efforts to stem the flow f cash sometimes used to fund narcotics trafficking operations.

Bus passengers get prison in Texas cash smuggling case - chicagotribune.com

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14 charged for smuggle $3.1 MILLION to Mexico
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http://www.alipac.us/f12/14-charged-...mexico-203529/

I.C.E. News Release

January 24, 2012
McAllen, TX

Smugglers attempting to export $3.1 million to Mexico sentenced to prison

McALLEN, Texas – Twelve defendants who attempted to smuggle $3.1 million in U.S. currency concealed in luggage into Mexico have now been sentenced to federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson Tuesday. The investigation was conducted jointly by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

On Sept. 26, 2010, CBP officers and ICE HSI agents stopped a southbound commercial passenger bus at the Hidalgo, Texas, Port of Entry. A search of passenger luggage revealed $3.19 million sealed in air mattresses hidden inside luggage. All 13 passengers subsequently pleaded guilty to intentionally concealing the currency with the intention of taking the currency to Mexico. The currency was concealed in an attempt to evade the statutory requirement to declare sums of money above $10,000 before leaving the United States.

On Jan. 24, Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa sentenced Pedro Sanchez-Aviles, 45, residing in Atlanta, Ga., and Margarita Patricia Jones, 51, residing in Cartersville, Ga., both legal permanent resident aliens, to 28 and 21 months in prison, respectively. Mexican citizens Rene F. Espinoza-Borjas, 47, and Irma Echeverria-Vega, 52, and Marcial Santana-Aleman, 48, a Mexican citizen and legal permanent resident residing in Buford, Ga., have all remained in custody since their arrests on Sept. 26, 2010. They were sentenced Jan. 24 to time served.

Judge Hinojosa also sentenced Maria Urieta, 50, and Leticia Urieta-Aguirre, 21, both of Smyrna, Ga., to 36 and 18 months in prison, respectively, at a Monday hearing. Bianca Tapia-Pineda, of Cartersville, Ga., Alejandro Camacho, originally of Norcross, Ga., and Elizabeth Cornejo, also of Norcross, Ga., will serve six months in prison, while Jobanni and Gabriella Hernandez, both of Atlanta, Ga., each received a sentence of 18 months confinement. In addition to their terms of imprisonment, the defendants were sentenced to two years supervised release.

On Jan. 23, Jonathan Nathan Gaona, 21, of Yadkinville, N.C., failed to appear for sentencing and is a fugitive. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Assistant U. S. Attorneys Kristen Rees and Casey MacDonald, Southern District of Texas, are prosecuting the case.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement . To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423 or complete our tip form.

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security

Smugglers attempting to export $3.1 million to Mexico sentenced to prison