Thread: Illegal alien smuggling ring uncovered in Texas

Illegal alien smuggling ring uncovered in Texas
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May 8, 2009 - 10:45 AM
posted by: Scott Lawrence

SHERMAN, TX (U.S. Attorney's Office) - U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that 27 individuals have been arrested on charges of alien smuggling in the Eastern District of Texas.

During the arrests on May 6th, approximately $40,000 to $50,000 was seized from bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, and miscellaneous cash found at suspected stash houses and on individuals. Law enforcement officers were also able to confiscate 8 firearms, ammunition, and 13 vehicles believed to have been used in the illegal activities.

"This enforcement activity will serve two very significant purposes - disrupting and ultimately destroying these particular human smuggling operations," said U.S. Attorney Bales. "Equally important," he continued, "the case signals our continued vigilance to protect America's borders as well as discourage a form of criminal activity which preys on the desperation of other people. I wish to commend the outstanding investigative efforts of the ICE agents involved in this case."

"This ongoing ICE investigation targets multiple alien smuggling organizations, many of them based in Dallas," said John Chakwin Jr., special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Dallas. "These organizations are notorious for their greed, and for their total disregard for human life. This operation is shutting down these organizations by arresting the smugglers and seizing their assets." Chakwin oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the State of Oklahoma.

These arrests are the result of a two-year investigation into an alien smuggling ring operating within the Eastern District of Texas. The investigation, which began in 2007, targeted a conspiracy between individuals suspected of transporting between 500 and 1,000 undocumented aliens per month within the United States, harboring them in stash-houses, and shielding them from detection. These individuals are also believed to have conducted significant financial transactions with the proceeds of these illegal activities. It is alleged that the undocumented aliens were charged between $1,500 and $2,500 each to be brought into the United States and then transported to their final destinations. The organization used load vehicles, such as minivans and work vans, modified to transport multiple undocumented aliens at once.

A two-count federal indictment was returned by the grand jury on Apr. 8, 2009, charging multiple defendants with conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The following individuals have been arrested and indicted with 16 of them making Initial Appearances on May 7th before U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos L. Mazzant:



Defendants Arrested: Age Residence Counts IA 5/7



Ruben Olivares-Gonzalez 38 Dallas 1, 2 *

Carlos Espinoza-Lagunas 39 Garland 1 *

Alejandro Rodriguez-Flores 37 Dallas 1, 2 *

Silvano Trujillo-Gomez 33 Dallas 1, 2 *

Misael Ramirez 37 Dallas 1 *

Valentina Campuzano-Aviles 33 Dallas 1, 2 *

Leonel Carachure-Lopez 44 1, 2

Arturo Montes-Flores 51 Dallas 1

Alfonso Echeverria-Aguirre 45 1, 2 *

Israel Miranda-Sevilla 26 1, 2

Lourdes Benitez-Bahena 23 1, 2 *

Gerardo Hernandez-Mejia 28 1 *

Jorge Alberto Cubas 43 1 *

Felipe Garnica-Garcia 26 1

Oscar Arizmendi-Escobar 22 1

Celio Torres-Linares 31 1 *

Eleuterio Otlica-Balderrabano 38 1 *

Osiris Montoya-Guadarrama 22 1 *

Gilberto Ortiz-Trujillo 24 1

Reymundo Mendoza-Trejo 30 1

Galdino Tomas-Dionicio 38 1 *

Jose Aviles-Estrada 39 Mesquite, TX 1 *

Aurelio Garduno-Martinez 25 1

Jose Gonzalez-Vega 24 1

Pedro Doroteo-Sostenes 27 1

Ezequiel Rocco-Mondragon 25 1

David Garcia-Sotelo 26 1 *

If convicted, defendants face 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens (Count 1) and up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering (Count 2).

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stevan A. Buys, Maureen Smith, and Jay Johnson.

A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

http://www.kfdm.com/news/uncovered-3164 ... legal.html

So what would the cost to US taxpayers be for this whole mess? Probably $20 million just to prosecute the defendants and keep them in prison. Then there are all the people they brought in, up to who knows what.

I had sent an earlier version on to three senators. Now we have their names.