LAREDO, Texas - Six Texas residents have entered guilty pleas related to a human smuggling operation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.
Those pleading guilty today include brothers Lucio Segundo, 31, and Christopher Segundo, 23, of Giddings. On Monday, Francisco Segura, 29, also of Giddings; Alex De La Rosa, 23, of San Marcos; Jesus Perez, 24, of La Grange; and David Cedillo, 46, of Austin, entered their respective pleas of guilty. All admitted to a conspiracy to transport illegal aliens.
During the conspiracy, the defendants at times smuggled the undocumented aliens in the trunks of rental vehicles. More often, they were transported in trailers that had been specifically modified with false bottoms under vehicle floorboards. As many as a dozen aliens could be transported at one time lying down in those false compartments. Construction materials would be placed on the trailers to make it appear that the trailers were carrying legitimate loads.
Various drivers were recruited to transport the aliens northbound from Laredo through Border Patrol checkpoints between Nov. 1, 2015, and July 1, 2017.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo Garcia accepted the pleas today. All will remain in custody pending their sentencing hearings which will set in the near future before U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Bukiewicz and Alfredo De La Rosa are prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
