**Laredo, Texas Man Smuggles 105 in Refrigerated Trailer**
LAREDO, Texas – In a shocking display of human trafficking, a California man has been convicted for smuggling 105 undocumented aliens in a refrigerated trailer.
Christopher Faust, a 32-year-old resident of Sacramento, California, was convicted by a federal jury in Laredo, Texas, after a two-day trial.
According to court documents, Faust was stopped by law enforcement for a traffic violation on May 5. Initially, he claimed to be transporting green bananas, but authorities quickly noticed the temperature on the refrigerated trailer was too high for produce.
A K-9 unit then alerted to an odor emanating from inside the vehicle, and authorities opened the trailer to find 105 undocumented aliens. The storage facility where Faust claimed to have picked up the load confirmed that they do not ship green bananas and that Faust never picked up a load of produce from their facility.
Faust’s defense team attempted to convince the jury that he did not know that the people were in his trailer, but the jury did not believe those claims and found him guilty as charged.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will set sentencing at a later date, at which time Faust faces up to 10 years of imprisonment and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Faust was permitted to remain on bond pending his sentencing hearing.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety and Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Fawcett and Aaron Petters are prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Human Trafficking|Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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