Alleged Head of International Human Smuggling Ring Arrested for U.S. in Mexico

Law enforcement authorities in Mexico arrested a man believed to be the leader of a large human smuggling organization. The arrest of the Sierra Leone national in Mexico was made at the request of the United States Department of Treasury.

U.S. officials announced the arrest of 42-year-old Abdul Karim Conteh late last week. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice last week, Conteh is expected to be extradited to the United States after being arrested in Tijuana, Mexico, on July 11.

An indictment unsealed last week charges the native of Sierra Leone with smuggling thousands of migrants through Mexico and into the United States. Conteh is reportedly the head of a large human smuggling organization.

“This arrest unravels a global web of coordinated human smuggling into the United States,” U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath for the Southern District of California, said in the statemetn. “Even the most far-reaching, prolific networks cannot evade justice.”

Conteh allegedly smuggled migrants from countries across the globe including citizens of Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Somalia, Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Egypt, and others, DOJ officials stated. The migrants would allegedly pay tens of thousands of dollars to be transported along a human smuggling network from their home countries through South and Central American countries, into Mexico, and onward to the United States.

The alleged ring-leader of the human smuggling organization coordinated with his wife, Veronica Roblero Pivaral (age 25), and other yet unnamed co-conspirators at stops along the smuggling network to move the migrants to the U.S., the statement reveals.

The origins of the migrants allegedly smuggled by Conteh come from some of the most renowned terrorism hotspots in the world. Migrants from many of these nations are designated as Special Interest Aliens by the U.S. Border Patrol.

According to a Department of Homeland Security report reviewed by Breitbart Texas’ Randy Clark, nearly 25,000 migrants from Special Interest Countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa have been apprehended entering the United States during the first six months of fiscal year 2024.

Clark reported:

The source, not authorized to speak to the media, told Breitbart Texas the number of Special Interest Migrants shows no signs of slowing and has increased by more than six percent when compared to the total number encountered during the first six months of fiscal year 2023. As reported by Breitbart Texas, more than 61,000 Special Interest Migrants were apprehended in all of 2023.

Turkish nationals were the largest Special Interest Migrant demographic with nearly 7,000 apprehended since October. According to the report reviewed by Breitbart Texas, one alarming increase from fiscal year 2023 involves migrants from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. More than 4,300 citizens of that country have been apprehended since October. The number of Mauritanians breaching the southwest border has increased more than 65 percent from the same time frame last year.

The statement from the DOJ regarding Conteh’s arrest did not mention terrorism or terrorists.

Conteh, his wife Roblero, and others are charged with conspiracy to smuggle migrants into the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, DOJ officials stated. Conteh is also charged with the unlawful smuggling of migrants for financial gain. If convicted, the charges carry a mandatory minimum of three years in prison for the first two violations. Additional violations carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

“We allege Abdul Karim Conteh and his organization smuggled thousands of migrants from more than a dozen different countries through Mexico into the United States,’ Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement. “He has been arrested for his alleged role in this prolific, exploitive smuggling operation by Mexican authorities, and the Justice Department will ensure that he is held accountable in an American courtroom.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas added that this arrest should be a “warning to would-be migrants everywhere: do not believe the smuggler’s lies and risk your lives in their ruthless hands.”

Veronica Roblero Pivaral remains at large at this time, officials reported.

Editor’s Note: The case is US vs Abdul Karim Conteh and Veronica Roblero Pivaral. (24cr1059-JLS)