Thread: CO: Men face first human smuggling charges in Eagle County h

Men face first human smuggling charges in Eagle County history



Steve Lynn
Vail Correspondent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
January 23, 2008

WOLCOTT — Two men were charged with smuggling illegal immigrants into Eagle County Monday, the first time local authorities have leveled that charge in county’s history, authorities said Tuesday night.

Carlos Ortiz-Lazcano, 29, and Saul Hernandez-Lopez, 27, were arrested and charged with human smuggling and reckless endangerment after a sheriff’s deputy stopped to check on a mini-van with 15 illegal immigrants in it Monday night, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office said.

Local authorities developed a policy in December that lets them enforce state immigration law passed more than a year ago. In the past, they have complained about the difficulty of enforcing that law.

“It’s a major step in the right direction and we’re happy we’re able to do more,â€

Two Mexican men accused of smuggling illegal immigrants
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 03/07/2008 06:07:23 PM MST

LAS CRUCES, N.M.—Two Mexican men have been ordered held without bond after they were arrested in connection with an illegal immigrant smuggling scheme.

Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Rosendo Gamez-Avila, 30, and Miguel Trejo-Meraz, 52, over the weekend for unlawfully transporting more than two dozen illegal immigrants inside a moving van.

Border authorities responded to a call Saturday evening about a large group of people getting into a van on Arizona highway 80 near the Arizona-New Mexico border. The agents checked the van just south of Roadforks, N.M., and found three people in the cab and 27 others in the back. All were in the country illegally.

An investigation revealed that the driver, Gamez-Avila, was promised $100 for each illegal immigrant. Trejo-Meraz, a border-crossing card holder, allegedly drove the van from Douglas, Ariz., to Arizona highway 80, where he delivered it for Gamez-Avila to load and transport the immigrants.

Authorities said Trejo-Meraz was to be paid $200 for his role in the scheme. He was waiting on the side of the road for a ride back to Douglas when Border Patrol agents found him.

Gamez-Avila is charged with alien smuggling/transporting. Trejo-Meraz is charged with conspiracy to commit alien smuggling.

A federal magistrate on Thursday ordered the men held without bond. The men were being detained at the Dona Ana County Detention Facility pending trial.

Immigration officials said the illegal immigrants each paid between $800 to $1,800 to be smuggled into the United States and taken to their final destinations, including Phoenix, Chicago and Dallas.

"Alien smuggling organizations are driven by greed," said Roberto G. Medina, special agent-in-charge for the ICE Office of Investigations in El Paso, Texas. "ICE will not allow the border to be used as an opportunity for criminal smugglers to profit from their crimes."




http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_8493905