Thread: 6 Arrested in Smuggling Sting

Like one person in the comments section wrote: "only 6".

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/st ... _Container

BORDER SECURITY
Six arrested in Cuban smuggling sting
Six men have been arrested and charged with trying to smuggle Cubans into the United States illegally.
BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
A South Florida operation that conspired to smuggle Cubans into the United States has been broken up after its leader and five members were arrested in Miami-Dade and Broward counties this month, the U.S. attorney's office said Wednesday.

Miguel Bernal, the alleged leader of the organization, has been charged with conspiracy to smuggle aliens into the United States.

Also charged were Frankley Ortiz, 37, and Lazaro Garcia, 52, both of Hialeah and Maikel Perez Tarajano, 33, Jose Aguila Gomez, 46, and Osmel Echevarria Hernandez, 29, all of Miami.

Their arrests come amidst a heightened effort by the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on human smuggling, said Nicole Navas, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami.

According to the indictment, the six men conspired to bring 20 Cubans into the U.S. in March of last year.

ICE began investigating Bernal last March and worked with the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office to bring the charges against the men, Navas said. A 26-foot boat and two boat engines were seized from Bernal on March 22, 2008, the indictment said.

If convicted, the men face maximum sentences of 10 years in prison. Gomez is also facing charges in an unrelated case.

``We have a lot of human smuggling cases here in South Florida,'' Navas said. `` We've had smugglers that have sentences ranging from five years to life in prison for cases involving death.''

According to the U.S. attorney's office, 217 people were charged in maritime smuggling cases in 2008, more than the number charged in 2006 and 2007 combined. So far this year, 80 people have been charged in such cases.

Anthony Mangione, special agent in charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in Miami, said the increase in cases can be attributed to stronger efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to put a stop to the smuggling.

``DHS now is eight years old and we've now really started to mature as an agency,'' he said. ``We work together so much better now that we are able to make thesekinds of cases that before we weren't able tomake.''

A lawyer for Bernal declined to comment and lawyers for the other men could not be immediately reached.

Hernandez pled not guilty to the charge on Dec. 3. The other men have arraignments scheduled for Friday and Monday.

Bond for each of the men was set at $100,000.

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