LAREDO, Texas – Vanessa Valadez, a 23-year-old Laredo woman, has been sentenced to federal prison for her involvement in an unaccompanied minor smuggling ring. The grim revelation came from U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, who announced the sentencing.
Valadez pleaded guilty on September 20, 2024, admitting to smuggling a child into the United States for financial gain. U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison sentenced her to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
In a statement, Ganjei emphasized the seriousness of human trafficking, saying, “Those that choose to engage in the human trafficking business are not good people. They aren’t motivated by altruism or sympathy. They are paid to traffic in human beings, and they treat people they smuggle as nothing more than cargo.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Craig S. Larrabee echoed these sentiments, stating that drugging children for smuggling purposes is both criminal and inhumane. He assured the public of HSI’s commitment to dismantling such criminal networks.
Valadez and her co-conspirators operated a child smuggling ring from August to September 2023, transporting young illegal minors under five years old from Mexico into the U.S. During an interception on September 19, 2023, law enforcement discovered that the girls were sedated with melatonin gummies and their identities were falsified using stolen birth certificates.
The investigation revealed at least four attempted smuggling attempts, three of which remain unidentified. Co-conspirators Ana Laura Bryand, Kayla Marie Bryand, Jose Eduardo Bryand, Nancy Guadalupe Bryand, and Lizeth Esmeralda Bryand Arredondo have all pleaded guilty and been sentenced to federal prison.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Makens and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Terence A. Check Jr., with support from Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations, Border Patrol, Laredo Police Department, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, and FBI.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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