Romanian Smuggler Luigi Popescu Extradited to U.S.

Luigi Cristinel Popescu, a Romanian national from Cernatesti, has been extradited to the United States and booked into federal custody in San Diego, facing charges as the alleged ringleader of a vast international alien smuggling operation. Prosecutors say Popescu orchestrated the illegal entry of thousands of Romanian nationals into the U.S. over nearly seven years, exploiting human desperation for profit.

Arrested in Bucharest on August 14, 2020, at the request of U.S. authorities, Popescu was flown to California and arraigned before Magistrate Judge Jill Burkhardt, who ordered him detained as a flight risk. He faces one count of Conspiracy to Bring-in Illegal Aliens for Financial Gain, five counts of Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain, and Aiding and Abetting, as outlined in a Superseding Indictment returned by a federal grand jury in late 2019.

According to the indictment, Popescu ran a sprawling transnational network that moved Romanians through Europe, Central America, Mexico, and Canada before funneling them across both the northern and southern U.S. borders. Smuggled individuals paid between $10,000 and $25,000 per person or family, trusting their lives to a criminal enterprise that used encrypted apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime to coordinate movements, deliver instructions, and share photos of clients with on-the-ground operatives.

The investigation uncovered a well-oiled machine: co-conspirators in Romania, Spain, Guatemala, and Mexico arranged travel, shelter, and guides. Popescu relied on an ever-rotating cast of stash house operators, drivers, and coyotes to evade law enforcement. Final legs of the journey—through Mexico to the U.S.—routinely ended at stash houses near the San Ysidro and Calexico Ports of Entry, where migrants waited for their final push across the border.

U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer condemned the operation, stating, “Putting your faith, hope and future in the hands of smugglers is extremely dangerous.” He vowed aggressive prosecution of transnational criminal organizations, crediting Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, and prosecutor Timothy D. Coughlin for their relentless pursuit of justice.

“Transnational criminal organizations engaged in human smuggling endanger the security of the United States,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant. Regional Attaché Katie Bay added that HSI will continue working with foreign governments to bring smugglers like Popescu to justice—both at home and abroad. Popescu is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia Bashant on September 23, 2020, for a motion hearing and trial setting.