21 Arrests in S.D., L.A. Smash Alien Smuggling Ring

A major alien smuggling ring responsible for transporting thousands of illegal aliens from Mexico into Los Angeles has been broken with the arrests of 21 alleged smugglers in Los Angeles and San Diego, authorities announced Friday.

The ring, which operated a sophisticated network of up to eight residential “drop houses” handling about 300 aliens a week, is one of the largest ever detected in Southern California, Assistant U.S. Atty. Bonnie S. Klapper said.

Three indictments handed down Friday by federal grand juries in Los Angeles and San Diego culminated a four-month investigation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of a ring that officials said may have smuggled more than 15,000 illegal aliens into the United States. Two government agents infiltrated the ring, working as drivers for nearly three months.

“This is one of our largest arrests in terms of the size of the smuggling ring,” said Klapper, who is prosecuting five alleged ring members arrested March 27 in Los Angeles. Sixteen others were arrested the same day in San Diego.

The arrests are part of a continuing crackdown on illegal alien smuggling that has picked up in recent months as weak economic conditions in Mexico have swollen the number of aliens seeking work in the United States, Klapper said.

“The INS wants to make it clear that even with the new Immigration Act and amnesty, the immigration laws will continue to be enforced. There isn’t going to be any relaxation of the enforcement of the laws,” she said.

The ring identified in Friday’s indictments had been operating for at least six months, successfully in part because of the number of drop points set up throughout Los Angeles and San Diego, authorities said.

“They did not appear to have any techniques that were unique,” Klapper said. “What they did appear to have was a very organized network of drop houses, so that if one house would fold, they always had the option of using the other house. This enabled them to handle a very large volume of illegal aliens.”

Loaded Into Trucks

According to the indictments, aliens were loaded into pickup trucks in San Diego and driven to one of four residences there or four in Los Angeles. Two of the Los Angeles drop houses closed after an earlier round of arrests, Klapper said.

Once at the drop houses, aliens were not permitted to leave until relatives or friends paid a fee ranging from $300 to $700. As in many such operations, aliens awaiting pickup were crammed 15 to 20 into a room and charged for drinks and use of the bathroom, Klapper said.

The San Diego drop points were located at 1685 Logan Ave., 520 29th St., 2959 Clay Ave. and 2930 B St.

The two drop houses in Los Angeles were at 2533 Lincoln Park Ave. and 1616 22nd St.

As part of an undercover investigation, code-named “Lola II,” two INS agents, using their own pickup trucks, hired on as drivers and worked for the ring for nearly three months, Klapper said.

“This way, we were able to deal face-to-face with the actual smugglers, as opposed to simply searching a house and arresting whoever was there,” she said. “We were able to have an ongoing relationship with the primary people that were involved, and that allowed us to make a lot of arrests at one time.”

Suspects Named

Indicted in Los Angeles were Alonzo Marquez, Armando Beltran-Estrada, Juana Gutierrez-Muniz, Maclovio Hernandez-Martinez and Maria de Lourdes Martinez-Rivera.

They face charges of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, for which the maximum penalty ranges from seven years (for some of the defendants) to 11 years in prison, combined with a $250,000 fine on each of two counts. The 16 arrested in San Diego face additional charges of transporting illegal aliens.