A 40-year-old Mexican national, Edgar Ruiz-Briones, has pleaded guilty to an alien smuggling conspiracy and illegal reentry into the United States. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei in Corpus Christi, Texas.
According to the investigation, Ruiz-Briones arranged transportation and coordinated trips for over 100 illegal aliens coming over the southern border with Mexico. He was the leader of the smuggling organization, recruiting drivers from as far away as Kansas to come to the Rio Grande Valley to pick up the aliens and transport them to Houston.
Drivers would communicate directly with Ruiz-Briones to set up the trips, give updates on progress, and set meeting spots for drop-offs in Houston after successful smuggling operations. They would pick up illegal aliens from different stash houses and transport them to Houston, where they met with Ruiz-Briones before going further into the United States.
Ruiz-Briones handled payments from the aliens to come into the United States and payments to the drivers he recruited. The investigation revealed that over the course of the 18-month conspiracy, Ruiz-Briones arranged for over 100 aliens to enter, remain, and be transported further into the United States.
As an illegal alien himself, having been removed from the United States on multiple occasions, Ruiz-Briones also pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States from Mexico and remaining here in violation of the law. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison for the alien smuggling conspiracy and 20 years for illegally re-entering the United States.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos will impose sentencing on October 30. Ruiz-Briones has been and will remain in custody pending sentencing. The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of Border Patrol, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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