WA-Brazilian accused in human smuggling charged
Friday, April 17, 2009
Last updated 2:07 p.m. PT
Brazilian accused in human smuggling charged
By LEVI PULKKINEN
Federal prosecutors in Seattle have filed human smuggling charges against a Brazilian citizen accused of sneaking immigrants over the Canadian-U.S. border.
According to court documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, remote sensors about 1 ½ miles east of Sumas detected a group of four immigrants trying to cross the border on March 19. Border Patrol agents apprehended them shortly after 9 p.m., discovering them hiding in and near the Sumas River.
Questioned by agents, three of the Brazilian passport holders said they had been led across by Renato De Almeida-Soraes, who had also been caught near the river, according to court documents.
De Almeida-Soraes told investigators that he'd been leading illegal immigrants across the border for some time for a Canadian man he knew as "Caio."
De Almeida-Soraes had been living in Canada and hoping to immigrate to the United States when he was introduced to Caio, who offered to take him to the U.S. for $5,000, according to prosecutors. Unable to pay Caio's price, De Almeida-Soraes agreed to smuggle immigrants across the border for Caio; in exchange, Caio reduced De Almeida-Soraes's debt by $500 for each immigrant.
"De Almedia-Soraes stated that each time he smuggled aliens into the United States, he always crossed the border in the same place near Sumas," Special Agent Edward Moore of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in court documents. "After he brought the aliens across the border from Canada into the United States, he would call a taxi to pick everyone up."
The March 19 trip, De Almeida-Soraes allegedly told investigators, was to be his last for Caio.
According to a detention order, De Almeida-Soraes will remain in federal detention pending the resolution of the charges. He has not yet entered a plea.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.
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