Two Lankans among illegal immigrants attempting to enter US
October 15, 2010 09:10 am
US Federal agents have arrested a Miami man and woman on human smuggling charges for trying to bring 31 illegal immigrants including two Sri Lankans to South Florida on a 40-foot fishing boat this week, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jesus Saavedra-Reyes, 52, and Sandra Anderson, 50, were intercepted in their boat east of Boynton Beach on Monday by U.S. Coast Guard crews, according to a federal complaint.
With them on Le Superior were 19 illegal immigrants from Haiti, six from Brazil, four from Jamaica and two from Sri Lanka.
Coast Guard crews returned the Haitians to Haiti and the rest were interviewed and processed for deportation in West Palm Beach and Miami. Seven of them had been deported before, according to ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents.
The immigrants interviewed identified Saavedra-Reyes as the boat captain and Anderson as the boat owner. They told agents they expected to stay at Anderson’s Miami home until they each paid the $5,000 smuggling fee.
Both Saavedra-Reyes and Anderson denied being involved in a human smuggling ring, the complaint said.
Saavedra-Reyes and Anderson were arrested Tuesday night and appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach. A federal judge ordered them held in pre-trial detention.
Both face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release.
The number of illegal immigrants intercepted at sea en route to the United States has decreased in the past three years, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Statistics show 2,088 people were intercepted in fiscal year 2010, compared with 4,802 in fiscal year 2008, The Orlando Sentinel reports.
