Thread: CA: 6 charged in immigrant smuggling scheme

6 charged in immigrant smuggling scheme

Father and son, owners of Oxnard auto body shops, charged $3,000 to transport people from Mexico to California, according to federal prosecutors.

By Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 22, 2008

The owners of an Oxnard auto body shop were arrested Thursday on suspicion of running a human smuggling ring that outfitted vehicles with hidden compartments and used them to transport illegal immigrants into the United States.

Edgar "Chucky" Eduardo Aceves, 26, and his father, Eduardo Aceves-Murillo, 45, both of Oxnard, and four co-defendants were indicted on charges of conspiring to transport undocumented immigrants for financial gain, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The father and son, owners of Chucky's Auto Repair and Aceves Upholstery in Oxnard, allegedly customized vehicles with specialized speaker boxes, center consoles and rear compartments that fit one or two people, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the Attorney's Office. The defendants allegedly charged $3,000 to transport illegal immigrants from Mexico to Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Aceves and his father took part in at least 25 smuggling operations, according to the indictment. They were also charged with conspiring to smuggle previously deported immigrants who had been convicted of aggravated felonies.

"That conduct will lead to longer sentences," Mrozek said.

If convicted, Chucky Aceves faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison, while his father could be sentenced up to 25 years, authorities said.

www.latimes.com

The federal government should be the proud new owner of Chucky's Auto Repair and Aceves Upholstery via forfeiture laws.

Forfeiture laws take the profit out of crime.

National City is close to the border but Oxnard is up above LA. There are probably a lot of these kind of operations in this state.
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National City man among 6 accused of modifying vehicles to smuggle immigrants


UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

7:27 p.m. February 21, 2008

A National City man was among six people arrested yesterday and accused of modifying vehicles to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country.
The group worked out of a body shop in Oxnard to add secret compartments to extended cab pickups and to SUVs, according to a federal indictment out of Los Angeles Federal Court.

Illegal immigrants were stuffed into the compartments behind the rear bench seats of the pickups, in audio speaker boxes and in the center consoles of the vehicles. At least one person suffered second-degree burns when the compartment overheated, according to the indictment.

Authorities chronicled 25 smuggling incidents over the past three years in which the group collected as much as $3,000 per person to bring them into the country.

www.signonsandiego.com

Oxnard auto shop owner caught rigging rides for human smuggling
Daily News
Article Last Updated: 02/21/2008 03:22:49 PM PST


OXNARD -- The owners of an auto body shop were among six people arrested by federal immigation agents for allegedly outfitting vehicles with hidden compartments to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States from Mexico.
Edgar "Chucky" Eduardo Aceves, 26, and his father, Eduardo Aceves-Murillo, 45, both of Oxnard are charged with conspiracy to bring and transport illegal aliens for financial gain and related violations, according to a six-count federal grand jury indictment.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also arrested Eduardo's daughter, Claudia Aceves, 22; two other Oxnard residents, David Fernandez, 29, and Gladys Anilu Leal, 24; and Jose Enrique Rodriguez, Jr., 23, of National City.

The defendants were expected appear at U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Thursday. The indictment alleges a conspiracy to bring and transport illegal aliens for private financial gain; bringing illegal aliens for private financial gain; and aiding, assisting, and conspiring to permit certain aliens to enter the United States.

If convicted, Edgar Aceves faces up to 35 years in prison, and Eduardo Aceves-Murillo could be sentenced to 25 years.

According to the indictment, Edgar and Eduardo Aceves, who own Chucky's Auto Repair and Aceves Upholstery, bought extended cab pick-up trucks and SUVs, then modified the vehicles to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. They constructed hidden compartments behind the rear bench seats of the pick-up


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trucks, in audio speaker boxes, and in the center consoles of pick-ups and SUVs.
At least one person suffered second-degree burns when the compartment overheated, the indictment said.

They also are accused of using the specially equipped vehicles to smuggle illegal aliens -- including convicted criminals and unaccompanied juveniles -- into the United States through ports of entry along the California-Mexico border. This case marks the first time the charge, which carries enhanced penalties, has been used in the Central District of California.

"Criminal aliens are a known threat to residents of the United States," United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said in a statement. "My office devotes significant resources to identify, prosecute and incarcerate illegal aliens who commit other crimes while in this country. This alien smuggling ring knowingly helped at least two previously deported criminal aliens enter the United States, and that conduct will lead to longer sentences."

The indictment counted 25 smuggling incidents involving the Aceves organization going back nearly three years, with the defendants allegedly charging up to $3,000 to transport them from Mexico to Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

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