Smuggler sentenced for transporting five people in jet skis

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A South Texas man has been ordered to federal prison for smuggling aliens in two personal watercrafts, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Fernando Cerda Jr., 26, Mission, pleaded guilty July 3.

U.S. District Judge David Morales has now ordered Cerda to serve 48 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court viewed images of how the undocumented aliens were sealed in the hollowed engine compartments of two jet skis.  In handing down the sentence, the court noted the egregious manner in which the migrants were transported.

On April 24, Cerda approached the Falfurrias checkpoint towing two jet skis. A K-9 soon alerted to them. Law enforcement conducted an inspection and discovered five aliens concealed inside the watercrafts. The aliens reported they feared for their lives while they were trapped in the jet skis.

Cerda will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lamont prosecuted the case.