Two men are accused of smuggling illegal immigrants from Brazil
By Derek Simmonsen

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

MARTIN COUNTY — Two men face federal charges after being accused of helping illegally smuggle Brazilian citizens into the U.S. last week.

Luiz Roberto Jardim and Yuen Cheng face a charge each of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country, according to an affidavit filed in the case. They will be arraigned on the charges June 6 but are temporarily being detained without bail.

The investigation began Friday after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent saw a boat at a house in the Bahamas used by smugglers who bring Brazilian citizens into the U.S. illegally. The boat was registered to a Port St. Lucie address and the agent notified Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, according to the affidavit.

ICE put out a bulletin to local law enforcement agencies to watch for the boat. Around 1:30 p.m., Martin County deputies spotted the boat in Sandsprit Park and saw it was being loaded onto a truck's trailer, according to the affidavit.

Authorities found three suspected illegal immigrants — two hiding in the boat and a third in the truck. Jardim was the truck's driver and Cheng was sitting in the passenger seat, according to the affidavit.

One Brazilian man said he flew from his home country to Cuba, then to the Bahamas before paying to get on the boat into the U.S. None of the men had proper immigration papers and two of them spoke only Portuguese.

Cheng admitted to being the captain of the boat and said he was to be paid $1,000 per person to bring the three men into the country. Jardim waited for Cheng's phone call and then came to pick them up in the truck.

The affidavit does not list an address for Jardim or Cheng and does not state if either of them is the owner of the boat.


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