Laredoans Sentenced In Alien Smuggling Case

LAREDO, Texas – Luis Alberto Loera, 27, and Anthony William Martinez, 19, both residents of Laredo, have been ordered to federal prison in relation to an alien smuggling conspiracy, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Both pleaded guilty Feb. 15, 2013.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen, who accepted the guilty pleas, sentenced Loera and Martinez to 80 and 60 months in prison, respectively. Both were further ordered to serve three-year-terms of supervised release following completion of their prison terms. In handing down the sentence, Judge Kazen took into consideration the extensive scope of the organization, the estimated number of aliens transported, the leadership roles of the defendants and their personal background. As a part of their supervised release, Judge Kazen also ordered Loera and Martinez to complete 150 and 120 hours of community service, respectively, after their release from federal custody.

Between July and August 2013, Loera and Martinez were suspected to be the organizers of several alien smuggling incidents involving numerous illegal aliens and stolen vehicles, but were never apprehended on scene by law enforcement. The investigation linked these two individuals as leaders and organizers of an extensive alien smuggling organization that coordinated the transportation and harboring of estimated several hundred illegal aliens over the course of several months.

At the time of their pleas, Loera and Martinez admitted to being involved in a long-running conspiracy to transport a large number of aliens within the United States for profit.

Both have been in custody where they will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonah Lee.