Press Release
ALIEN SMUGGLER ARRESTED AND CHARGED
December 4, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Six Others Charged with Re-Entering the U.S. After Removal
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Rear Admiral Steve Branham, Commander, Seventh Coast Guard District, Harold Woodward, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Luis Bencosme, Director of the Miami Air and Marine Branch, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, announced the December 2, 2008 arrest and the filing of a complaint against defendant Rafael Suarez Sanchez, 38, on alien smuggling charges. Suarez Sanchez made his initial appearance in court yesterday afternoon. Bond was set at $150,000 corporate surety.
On November 26, 2008, at approximately 5:03 p.m., Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Marine Interdiction Agents (MIA) assigned to the Miami Marine Unit aboard a CBP vessel were on routine patrol and observed a vessel that appeared to be over-loaded with passengers approximately 3 nautical miles east of Government Cut in Miami, FL. The vessel, a 2000 Mako, had approximately eight persons visible in the cockpit area, in addition to the operator. The CBP crew intercepted the vessel without incident. Upon boarding the vessel, the CBP officers identified Rafael Suarez Sanchez as the operator of the vessel. On board the vessel were 14 undocumented Dominican nationals and 1 undocumented Guyanese national. None of the undocumented nationals had permission to enter the U.S.
Additionally, six of the Dominican nationals were previously deported from the United States and therefore, were arrested for violating Title 8, United States Code, Section1326, for re-entry after having been removed from the U.S.
If convicted, Mr. Suarez-Sanchez faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment for the alien smuggling charges. The six Dominican nationals face up to 10 years’ imprisonment for attempting to enter the United States after having been previously deported.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Investigations, and the interdiction of the defendants by the Customs and Border Protection. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Russ Brown.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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