Dominican Alien Smugglers Plead Guilty to Smuggling 36 Individuals

(Friday, January 02, 2009)

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Three Dominican nationals plead guilty recently to charges related to their participation in a foiled attempt to smuggle 36 illegal aliens on board a sailboat.

The defendants Julian Jerónimo Calderón, Angel Miguel Tejeda-Melendez and Maikin Ernesto Tejeda-Perez admitted that they were the co-captains of a sailboat, and that they knowingly attempted to bring undocumented aliens from the Dominican Republic to the United States for their personal monetary profit.

On October 22, 2008, a 37-foot white Benetau sailboat was intercepted one mile off the southern coast of the island by the Puerto Rico Police Department’s Marine Operations (FURA, for its Spanish acronym). Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents arrested the large group of illegal aliens, including the defendants, for biometric identification and processing.

While in custody of the Ramey Station Border Patrol, each defendant stated that they were approached by an individual named “Tonyâ€