Saul Parra, Patrick Orozco and Rafael Gamez-Ramirez, all from Tucson, were indicted in August for conspiring to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit, according to a U.S. Attorneys Office District of Arizona news releases issued Thursday.
The indictment alleges that, beginning around November 2021, Gamez-Ramirez coordinated with Orozco to purchase a parcel of land located in Bisbee to be used to facilitate the transport of undocumented noncitizens into the United States. Orozco bought and placed a recreational vehicle onto the property where undocumented noncitizens waited to be transported. Law enforcement officers pursued and stopped several vehicles leaving the parcel between November 2021 and January 2022. One pursuit resulted in the death of an undocumented noncitizen after a driver lost control of the vehicle on Interstate 10 near Exit 297. Parra participated in the human smuggling conspiracy by loaning his vehicles to drivers in exchange for payment.
A conviction for conspiring to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The U.S. Attorneys Office District of Arizona is handling the prosecution.