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Mexican police arrest 42 in migrant-trafficking ring bust
Official: Largest smuggling ring ever discovered
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- Mexican police arrested 42 current and former government employees who alleged ran one of the largest migrant-trafficking rings ever discovered in Mexico, officials announced Tuesday.
A Friday raid uncovered suspects in 12 of Mexico's 31 states, in a network that allegedly smuggled Cubans, Uruguayans, Brazilians, Asians and Central Americans into the United States, and which may have operated on the other side of the border.
Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha said his office would immediately request the aid of U.S. law enforcement agencies to determine whether any U.S. officials or traffickers were involved in the ring.
Macedo de la Concha said it was the largest smuggling ring involving officials discovered to date.
Those arrested included agents and ex-agents of Mexico's National Immigration Institute, the INI, the very agency Mexico relies on to detect illegal migrants and prevent the country from becoming a trampoline for migrants from other countries.
Even more chilling was the fact that seven of the 26 INI agents arrested were assigned to Mexico's Grupo Beta, a special force designed to protect immigrants.
The suspects also included six former INI agents; seven local police and three former officers. Two non-officials who were identified as smugglers were also arrested, bringing the total number of detentions to 44.
Deputy Attorney General Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos said the traffickers charged between $2,000 and $6,000 to get immigrants into the United States. The highest price was charged for smuggling Asians.
The ring operated in the northern border states of Baja California, Chihuahua and Nuevo Leon; the southern border states of Chiapas and Quintana Roo, and the central Mexico states of Jalisco, Tabasco, Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, Mexico and Mexico City.
The traffickers allegedly brought immigrants in through the southern border, and guaranteed them safe passage into the United States. It was unclear how the ring operated in the United States.
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Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html
Official: Largest smuggling ring ever discovered
-----------------------------------------------
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- Mexican police arrested 42 current and former government employees who alleged ran one of the largest migrant-trafficking rings ever discovered in Mexico, officials announced Tuesday.
A Friday raid uncovered suspects in 12 of Mexico's 31 states, in a network that allegedly smuggled Cubans, Uruguayans, Brazilians, Asians and Central Americans into the United States, and which may have operated on the other side of the border.
Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha said his office would immediately request the aid of U.S. law enforcement agencies to determine whether any U.S. officials or traffickers were involved in the ring.
Macedo de la Concha said it was the largest smuggling ring involving officials discovered to date.
Those arrested included agents and ex-agents of Mexico's National Immigration Institute, the INI, the very agency Mexico relies on to detect illegal migrants and prevent the country from becoming a trampoline for migrants from other countries.
Even more chilling was the fact that seven of the 26 INI agents arrested were assigned to Mexico's Grupo Beta, a special force designed to protect immigrants.
The suspects also included six former INI agents; seven local police and three former officers. Two non-officials who were identified as smugglers were also arrested, bringing the total number of detentions to 44.
Deputy Attorney General Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos said the traffickers charged between $2,000 and $6,000 to get immigrants into the United States. The highest price was charged for smuggling Asians.
The ring operated in the northern border states of Baja California, Chihuahua and Nuevo Leon; the southern border states of Chiapas and Quintana Roo, and the central Mexico states of Jalisco, Tabasco, Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, Mexico and Mexico City.
The traffickers allegedly brought immigrants in through the southern border, and guaranteed them safe passage into the United States. It was unclear how the ring operated in the United States.
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Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html
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