Thread: Feds Bust illegal immigrant smuggling ring

URL: http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/co ... 56,00.html
3 busted in Oxnard linked to immigrant smuggling ring
By Marisa Navarro, mnavarro@VenturaCountyStar.com
June 3, 2006

In one of the most significant crackdowns in the county in recent years, federal agents busted an Oxnard-based human smuggling ring that brought illegal immigrants from Mexico into the country, officials said Friday.

Headquartered in an Oxnard trailer park, Juan Ramirez-Ramirez, who is known as "El Diablo," masterminded the smuggling of as many as 100 illegal immigrants a month from Mexico into the country, charging $1,600 to $2,800, said David Wales, resident agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the county. On Thursday, federal agents and Ventura County Sheriff's deputies found four illegal immigrants, including a 9-month-old girl whose parents have not yet been identified. The infant is in protective custody.

Wales said he suspects there are other smuggling rings in the county, and he hopes they learn of the arrests.

"This type of crime will not be tolerated," Wales said. "It puts these organization on notice that they will be investigated and they will be held accountable for illegal activity."

The Oxnard raid Thursday night is part of a yearlong federal investigation of a human trafficking ring that included a bust at a house in Yuma, Ariz., earlier this month where 25 illegal immigrants were staying temporarily. Federal agents from several ICE offices, including Ventura County, participated in the investigation. The operation also tapped phones and used electronic tracking devices.

The bust is expected to make only a small dent in the human-trafficking industry, Wales said. He added that officials weren't sure how long the ring had been operating but said it was for at least one year.

Thursday's bust led to the arrests of Ramirez-Ramirez, 37, of Oxnard; sisters Maria Margarita Renovato-Rangel, 24, and Maria de Jesus Renovato-Rangel, 29, both of Oxnard; Joel Rodriguez-Vargas, 27, of Riverside and Manuel Leon-Morales, 62 of Los Angeles.

All being held without bond

All are being held without bond in Los Angeles, said Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The preliminary hearing for the Renovato-Rangel sisters and Leon-Morales is scheduled for June 16. Ramirez-Ramirez and Rodriguez-Vargas waived their right to a preliminary hearing, and their arraignment is scheduled for July 10, Mrozek said.

Each faces various charges, such as transporting illegal immigrants, harboring illegal immigrants and conspiracy, and some sentences include up to 10 years in prison, Wales said.

Federal agents continue to search for several people associated with the operation, including a Yuma woman who smuggled children and a Riverside man who drove people from Arizona to Oxnard. More arrests in Ventura County also are expected, Wales said.

Court documents unsealed

Court documents unsealed Friday offered a glimpse into a sophisticated smuggling ring that included talking in code — boxes were adults, little boxes were children — meticulous record-keeping and maintaining a web of contacts to enable an illegal immigrant to get from Mexico to anywhere in the United States, including Atlanta and New York.

Ramirez operated his business through word-of-mouth, telling anyone who wanted to enter the United States to meet at the Hotel Internacional in Sonora, Mexico, according to court documents. A smuggler, known as a coyote, would then help them enter the country, either walking through the Arizona-Mexico desert or through a safer port of entry, depending on how much money the illegal immigrant had.

The illegal immigrants then would be left temporarily at drop houses in Yuma, where they would wait, sometimes for several weeks, until a driver would take them to Oxnard.

Conditions called deplorable

The Yuma drop houses had deplorable living conditions, officials said. In some cases, they had little food or water, an especially dire deprivation since most of the people were recovering from their trek through the hot desert, Wales said. Smugglers and associates talked on the telephone about how the illegal immigrants complained of their conditions and were demanding to be taken to their destination, court documents show. The conditions were so bad that federal agents saw a hand-written "Help Us!" sign placed on a window, according to court documents.

Once in Yuma, Ramirez-Ramirez and the Renovato-Rangel sisters managed the daily operations, including paying associates, and coordinating when people would be taken to Oxnard or other places.

In one instance, one of the Renovato-Rangel sisters arranged for a mother in Mexico to transport her 9-month-old son to his father in Santa Maria using fake documents for nearly $2,000, according to court documents.

Transfer in Oxnard alleged

As recently as May 19, federal agents believed they witnessed a woman paying the smuggling fee to release illegal immigrants at the parking lot of the Mervyn's store on Saviers Road and Channel Islands Boulevard in Oxnard. Moments after the woman talked to a driver, two men got out of the vehicle and entered her car, according to court documents.

In addition to finding illegal immigrants in Oxnard's bust, federal agents found $6,500 and ledgers that show the number of people smuggled and the amount of money received, Wales said.

The immigrants in custody may be witnesses in the investigation, Wales said. If they are not, they will be deported to Mexico.



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Although I'm glad of the investigation and arrests, I have 3 questions.

The Oxnard raid Thursday night is part of a yearlong federal investigation of a human trafficking ring that included a bust at a house in Yuma, Ariz., earlier this month where 25 illegal immigrants were staying temporarily. Federal agents from several ICE offices, including Ventura County, participated in the investigation. The operation also tapped phones and used electronic tracking devices.

1. Why did it take so long?
2. How many illegal aliens came into the US during this year, through this group?
3. What has happened to the illegals?