Fugitive Arrested in Miami in Connection with Deaths of Two Migrants in Trunk at San Diego-Tijuana Border

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick J. Bumatay (619) 546-8450 and Michael Wheat (619) 546-8437

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – December 16, 2015

SAN DIEGO – Suspected alien smuggler Eduard Cornejo-Saavedra, a fugitive being sought in connection with the deaths of two unauthorized immigrants who perished in the trunk of a car last year, was arrested in Miami today.

Saavedra, a 43-year-old citizen of Peru, was taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations agents at the Miami International Airport on alien smuggling charges related to the August 2014 deaths of Tarcisio Casas-Blanco and Jose Aurelio Quiroz-Casas, both Mexican citizens.

Saavedra was arrested in Tijuana approximately six weeks ago at the request of the United States in connection with this case. Mexican officials sought his deportation and he was ultimately ordered deported to his native Peru. He was en route to Peru from Mexico City today when he was intercepted by U.S. law enforcement.

Saavedra was charged in October of 2014 with alien smuggling. That indictment was unsealed today. The United States is seeking his transfer from Miami to face charges in San Diego.

The smuggling incident in question occurred on August 12, 2014, when Nicholas George Zakov, 43, attempted to transport the two Mexican citizens, Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas, into the United States by hiding them in the trunk of his 2012 Dodge Challenger.

Zakov pleaded guilty to the alien smuggling charges and received a sentence of seven years in prison on September 29, 2015. He has admitted that he drove the Challenger to the San Ysidro, California Port of Entry, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the two Mexican citizens unresponsive in Zakov’s trunk. Medical attention was immediately sought for the two, but they died a short while later of hyperthermia and mechanical asphyxiation.

Zakov also admitted that he continued to drive through the San Ysidro, California Port of Entry while ignoring the two Mexican citizens’ pleas to be let out of the trunk because of the extreme heat.

“This case is an important message to alien smugglers,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “We will seek justice for all those that engage in this dangerous and harmful crime.”

“This apprehension demonstrates the importance of working together with our law enforcement partners on both sides of the border,” said Pete Flores, CBP director of field operations for San Diego. “Now this perpetrator may be brought to justice for his part in the death of two human beings.”

The investigation and arrest of Saavedra was the result of the collaboration of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, San Diego Police Department, and the Baja California State Preventive Police Department.

Saavedra is charged with two counts of encouraging and inducing illegal aliens resulting in death and two counts of bringing illegal aliens into the United States for financial gain. Saavedra faces up to life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. 

DEFENDANT                                              Criminal Case No. 14CR3066-AJB

Eduard Cornejo-Saavedra                              Age: 43           Tijuana, Mexico

            a.k.a. Edward Saavedra

            a.k.a. Reenzo Saavedra-Cormeyo

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Counts 1 and 2:           Encouraging and Inducing Illegal Aliens, Aiding and Abetting, Resulting in Death, 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv), (v)(II), and (a)(1)(B)(iv)

Counts 3 and 4:           Bringing in Illegal Aliens for Financial Gain, Aiding and Abetting 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(2)(B)(ii) and 18 U.S.C. § 2

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Homeland Security Investigations

San Diego Police Department

Baja California State Preventive Police Department