ICE, Central American Authorities Bust “Most Powerful” Human Smuggling Ring

The network, which is claimed to be one of the most far-reaching and efficient of it’s kind, is said to have had the ability to transfer as many as 150 immigrants at any given moment. This led a Costa Rican prosecutor to refer to it as the “most powerful migrant trafficking organization in the region,” a bold claim to make given the amount of smuggling rings in the area:

“At least 29 people from across Central America were arrested on June 28 for their involvement in the human trafficking network, which primarily transported migrants of Asian or African nationalities.

The network’s alleged ringleader, Luis Leonardo Mejía Pasapera, alias ‘Leo,’ was arrested by Guatemalan authorities along with eight other suspects. Meanwhile, the remaining 20 were reportedly detained in El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama.

Among the arrestees were employees of Central American border agencies who provided false documents to the illegal immigrants, notes La Pagina.

Guatemalan authorities noted that there are still suspected members of the trafficking network who have yet to be arrested.

The illegal immigrants were moved from Brazil, through Central America and into the United Sates, according to authorities.

Investigators explained that many of the illegal migrants met in Dubai where they were provided with documents to enter Brazil. From there, they boarded planes to Colombia before entering neighboring Panama by land.

The trafficking gang then smuggled the migrants through Central America, using either Pacific or Atlantic sea routes.

Once they reached Mexico, the migrants were used as mules by criminal groups to smuggle drugs into the United States, according to Costa Rican authorities.

Each migrant reportedly paid between $7,000 to $25,000 for the entire trip into the United States.

The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala reportedly said Operation Mesoamerica was intended ‘to break a chain of illegal human trafficking.’”

Source: Breitbart