Authorities have arrested and indicted 23 people for their roles in a smuggling operation aimed at bringing illegal immigrants to the U.S. through the southern border.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Western Texas announced the 23 arrests and two additional arrests for federal drug charges this week. Authorities say the smuggling ring operates in Eagle Pass, Crystal City, Carrizo Springs, Uvalde, San Antonio, Laredo, Dallas and other areas of Texas.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the ringleader Jaime Jaramillo-Hernandez was among those arrested.
If convicted of alien smuggling the defendants face up to ten years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The two arrested on federal drug charges for possession to with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine face between five and 40 years in prison.
The San Antonio News Express reports that the smuggling operation transported about 150 illegal immigrants a week and charged $5,000 a person.
“It was thousands,” the paper quoted James Spero, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio, saying at a Thursday press conference. “In the past couple of years, we’ve attributed thousands of [immigrants] and millions of dollars to this group.”
[…]
