Alien Smuggling Ring Busted in Houston

In a shocking turn of events, three men have been sentenced for their involvement in a conspiracy to harbor and transport illegal aliens in Houston, Texas.

The ring, led by Jose Heriberto Lopez, 42, a Mexican citizen, was responsible for smuggling dozens of undocumented aliens into the United States. Lopez, along with co-defendants Jose Arenas-Lucero, 51, and Miguel Angel Medina-Ortiz, 37, both also Mexican citizens, pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme in September, October, and November 2014, respectively.

According to authorities, Lopez and his co-conspirators used a stash house in Houston to detain the undocumented aliens, who were forced to surrender their shoes, phones, and other property upon entry. The aliens were then held until their families paid the remaining balance for transportation further into the United States.

Lopez, who was also involved in the transportation of the aliens, received a sentence of 70 months in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy. Arenas-Lucero and Medina-Ortiz were sentenced to 24 and 18 months, respectively.

The investigation, led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), began in April 2014 and culminated in the arrest of Lopez on June 12, 2014. The discovery of a stash house in Houston, which was discovered after a 911 call, led authorities to 34 undocumented aliens being held in the house with boarded-up windows.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Moyer prosecuted the case, which has left many questioning the extent of human trafficking in the United States.

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