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Alien Smuggler Sentenced to 5 Years for Abandoning Customers in California
San Diego, CA – In a shocking case of human trafficking, Efrain Delgado-Rosales, a notorious alien smuggler, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for abandoning his customers in the Otay Mountains.
According to the U.S. District Court, Delgado-Rosales was found guilty of smuggling four non-U.S. citizens into the United States and leaving three of them behind in the Otay Mountains.
The incident occurred on an undisclosed date in 2016, when Delgado-Rosales collected four Mexican citizens from a stash house in Tijuana and took them to the U.S.-Mexico border fence. He left them for hours on the Mexico side of the border, where thieves robbed them of thousands of dollars and some of their cell phones.
When Delgado-Rosales returned to resume the crossing into the United States, he seemed indifferent to the robbery, leading his customers to suspect that he was involved.
Once over the border fence and into the U.S., Delgado-Rosales guided the four men into the Otay Mountains. He left three of them behind, only to return after one of the men called the one who had kept pace with the Delgado-Rosales and begged him to return with the guide.
The Border Patrol was alerted to the men’s whereabouts, and agents responded to the location to find Delgado-Rosales and the four men. All five men were arrested for being illegally in the United States.
The area where the men were arrested is remote and mountainous, far from human habitation and unlikely to have cell phone service. The location of the arrests matters, as Delgado-Rosales was implicated in another smuggling operation in the Otay Mountains, further east in more rugged and desert-like terrain.
Delgado-Rosales has been apprehended by Border Patrol 24 times dating back to July 19, 1999. Only once was he apprehended alone. Every other time, he was apprehended with at least two and up to 46 other undocumented individuals.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant: Efrain Delgado-Rosales
Criminal Charges: Smuggling four non-U.S. citizens into the United States and abandoning three of them in the Otay Mountains
City and State: San Diego, CA
Exact Date: March 25, 2016 (sentencing date)
Sentence or Outcome: 5 years in prison
Dollar Amounts: $5,000 (smuggling fee), thousands of dollars (stolen from robbed men)
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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