Eight Guatemalan nationals allegedly took cash to smuggle migrants into the U.S. in a scheme that federal prosecutors say spanned 24 states.
"For the past four years, this illegal alien smuggling group has operated and laundered proceeds in the Northern District of Oklahoma," said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Federal prosecutors allege that the smugglers charged $5,000 a person and smuggled people into the U.S. from Guatemala, Mexico, and other countries in Central or South America, as well as Asia.
"ICE is committed to pursuing human smugglers regardless of their location or attempts to evade arrest," said Travis Pickard, Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Dallas.
According to prosecutors, once the migrants were smuggled into the country, the smuggling ring would harbor them in states across the country including, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.
"This indictment indicates the extensive nature of our human smuggling investigations and role in immigration enforcement. HSI's special agents across several field offices have worked relentlessly to trace those transporting and harboring aliens from their countries of origin to their final destinations, effectively dismantling their illegal smuggling operations and money laundering schemes," Pickard said.
Cidia Marleny Lima Lopez, 39, and Ottoniel Castro Argueta, 33, were arrested today in Charlotte, North Carolina; Veronica Maribel Lima Lopez, 33, and Esvin Alexander Rodriguez Luis, 26, were arrested in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Ariz Obdulio Argueta, 28, and Cesar Rodolfo Garcia Argueta, 20, were arrested in Clarksville, Arkansas; Pedro Cucul Gualna, 25, was arrested in Sallisaw, Oklahoma; Carlos Enrique Ramos Caal, 30, was arrested in Flagstaff, Arizona. All are charged with conspiring to bring, transport and conceal aliens in the United States.
