Deputies Accuse Jail Inmate Of Immigrant Smuggling
By VALERIE KALFRIN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Mar 16, 2007


TAMPA - Sheriff's office detectives are investigating a Tampa man's role in the illegal "coyote" system of smuggling undocumented immigrants into the country.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday filed a felony unlawful imprisonment charge against Marcelino Guillen-Jaimes, 36, of Tampa.

He is accused of finding an immigrant a construction job to repay exorbitant fees to enter the country, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

She released few details Thursday, saying the investigation is continuing.

Guillen-Jaimes, of 1716 E. 143rd Ave., has been in custody since February. He is serving 180 days in Orient Road Jail for felony unauthorized use of a driver's license, public records show.

While he was in jail, detectives received an anonymous tip that he was involved in the system in which a smuggler - called a coyote - is paid $1,500 to $2,000 to transport someone to the United States from Mexico, Carter said.

They were able to locate a Mexican man in his 20s who told them Guillen-Jaimes found him a job to repay his debt, the spokeswoman said.

The man, whom she did not identify, was forced to work seven days a week, eight to 10 hours a day, to repay the fee, Carter said.

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBC6813CZE.html