Encinitas
U.S. Border Patrol agents Wednesday broke up a suspected smuggling ring that is believed to have taken as many as 300 illegal aliens a month from Tijuana to Orange and Los Angeles counties, a Border Patrol spokesman said.
Agents entered the suspected “drop house” in the 1000 block of Vulcan Avenue in Encinitas about 8:30 a.m. and arrested three people suspected of operating the ring, said Ed Pyeatt, a Border Patrol spokesman. Thirteen undocumented Mexican aliens also were arrested.
Those arrested were Juan Jaramillo-Roldan, 38, of Tijuana; Hermelinda Banuelos-Rivera, 30, of the Encinitas address, and an unidentified 17-year-old youth, Pyeatt said.
The ring is suspected of charging aliens as much as $300 to be led across the border and transported by car to Orange and Los Angeles counties.
Five special agents had been investigating the ring since January, Pyeatt said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
