According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a two-week operation in Arizona has resulted in the charging of over 500 individuals with immigration-related crimes.
Between January 21 and February 3, a total of 565 people were charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) referred or brought these cases.
The sting operation conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office showcased a number of noteworthy cases, among them the prosecution of Edwin Santiago Marquez Flores.
On January 27th, special agents were conducting an investigation into Marquez for his alleged involvement in posting human smuggling activity on social media. While conducting a routine traffic stop, authorities discovered two AK-47-style rifles and over $1,400 in cash inside his vehicle.
Marquez reportedly confessed to selling 50 firearms, with a staggering 40 of them going to a single individual who then smuggled them into Mexico.
Marquez admitted to investigators that he had transported and sold cocaine within the United States. Additionally, he confessed to employing a team of 300 drivers to smuggle 800-1,000 undocumented immigrants into the country. Authorities claim that Marquez made over $1.2 million from these smuggling activities.
Days later, Jason Kyle Dunn faced charges for smuggling undocumented migrants when he was apprehended at a Border Patrol checkpoint near I-19 in southern Arizona. Agents discovered Dunn’s involvement after a K-9 alerted them to his pickup truck.
Agents discovered six migrants locked inside the truck after conducting a thorough search. The migrants were found in various compartments of the truck, including the driver’s side toolbox, the passenger side toolbox, and the main toolbox. According to authorities, the migrants revealed that they were unable to open the toolboxes from the inside and had been trapped for a maximum of two hours.
The investigation is still ongoing.