10 Arrested in Ring Smuggling Illegal Aliens

Border Patrol officials announced Friday that they have smashed a ring headed by 10 illegal aliens who were allegedly responsible for smuggling as many as 500 aliens a week into Southern California.

Chief Patrol Agent Dale Cozart said the 10 ringleaders were arrested early Friday morning but he refused to identify the suspects or release their addresses because making the information public would “jeopardize” the case.

Cozart said the suspects are natives of Mexico and El Salvador and were living in the United States illegally. They were arrested in the “southern San Diego area,” he said.

According to Border Patrol officials, the ring had been under investigation for six months. Cozart estimated that the ring was moving as many as 500 aliens a week into the Los Angeles area and called the group “one of the largest organized smuggling operations ever encountered” in the San Diego area.

Border Patrol officials said the ring used stolen tractor-trailer rigs to transport the aliens, most of whom were Mexicans. Cozart said one rig was stopped at the checkpoint near San Onofre on June 11 with 173 aliens crammed inside.

The arrests were made without incident and agents also recovered five handguns, about $26,000 in U.S. currency, four counterfeit $100 bills, and forged immigration documents when they searched the suspects’ homes, Border Patrol officials said.

According to Cozart, the ring was charging aliens $350 to $400 each to be smuggled into the United States. The 10 suspects are expected to be arraigned Monday in U.S. District Court.