CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — A Utah man was sentenced Aug. 8 to 10 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his involvement as a human smuggling coordinator. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol conducted the investigation.
Mauricio Andrade-Garcia, 20, of Heber City, Utah, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit March 14.
Andrade-Garcia recruited drivers through social media sites, including Snapchat, to pick up undocumented noncitizens in Southern Arizona and to transport them further into the United States for profit. He coordinated with his co-conspirators, providing them with instructions on how and where to pick up the undocumented noncitizens. He shared GPS coordinates for the undocumented noncitizens’ locations and transportation routes designed to circumvent detection by law enforcement. Three of Andrade-Garcia’s co-conspirators were arrested while transporting the undocumented noncitizens and convicted in separate cases in CR-23-00482-TUC-JCH and CR-23-00108-TUC-RM.
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona in Phoenix Christine D. Keller handled the prosecution.