EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Four men were recently arrested on charges related to their alleged involvement in a human smuggling conspiracy in El Paso, according to the United States Attorney’s Office from the Western District of Texas.
Jesus David Reyes-Villagran, Yair Alejandro Aguilar-Flores, Angel Eduardo Carrillo-Carrillo, and Jorge Alfredo Lopez-Acevedo are all charged with bringing in and transporting migrants after agents discovered several migrants in a motel room in El Paso, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Border Patrol agents were conducting surveillance operations at an El Paso motel where they saw a vehicle with a temporary license plate. The driver of the vehicle who was later identified to be Reyes-Villagran, had entered the motel lobby briefly before returning to the vehicle and driving away.
Agents then saw Aguilar-Flores, Carrillo-Carrillo, and Lopez Acevedo departing from one of the motel rooms and entering a separate vehicle that also had a temporary license plate.
The driver of that vehicle who was later identified to be Aguilar-Flores, admitted to agents that he was from Mexico and was living in the U.S. illegally. Carrillo-Carrillo and Lopez-Acevedo were also arrested after the agents determined that they were also in the U.S. illegally, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The men also acknowledged that additional migrants were inside the motel room. Agents then located seven migrants, who were all placed under arrest.
As agents were concluding their investigation, they noticed Reyes-Villagran returned to the motel. Reyes-Villagran admitted to agents that the motel room was his and that he was returning from dropping off five other migrants at another El Paso hotel, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the vehicle Reyes-Villagran was driving had previously been observed at other hotels and was used for harboring migrants.
If convicted, all four men face up to 10 years in prison.
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