Two arrested for integrating an alleged network dedicated to smuggling migrants to the United States, including an immigration official

An official from the Undersecretariat for Migration and another person from outside that instance were arrested for their participation in an alleged network dedicated to the illegal trafficking of migrants with the impersonation of Spanish documentation, to facilitate the entry of citizens into the United States.

This operation, which was headed by the Transnational Crimes Investigation Unit, Guayaquil agency, in collaboration with the United States Department of Homeland Security, was carried out at homes in Los Ceibos and Mucho Lote, in the north of Guayaquil, during the early this Friday, February 25.

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According to police investigations, which began in February 2021, the suspected citizens were supposedly in charge of delivering Spanish passports and identity documents to Ecuadorian citizens, who were then transferred to Mexico and later entered the United States, said Fausto Olivo, undersecretary of Migration.

Captain Luis Naula, head of the Transnational Crimes Investigation Unit (UIDT) in Guayaquil, explained the roles played by both people in the illegal trafficking network of people with Spanish documentation, taking advantage of the fact that citizens of that country do not need a visa and only They fill out a form to enter the United States.

The suspicious official allegedly placed seals and manipulated the Immigration computer system to fraudulently register the false entry of these people to Ecuador, in order to avoid doubts from the control entities when they left for the north of the continent, Naula explained.

“By giving them the façade under their modality of simulating Spanish citizenship, they were registered as if they arrived in the country during 2021 and once registered in the Migration system, when leaving the country they could mention that their citizenship was subject to a previous entry record. to the country, therefore, the circle of doubt that could exist in the analyzes of immigration control to leave the country was closing,” explained Naula.

For his part, the other person was in charge of contacting potential clients and falsifying the documents of the European country.

In the raids this Friday, several passports were found, among those of four children who had already arrived irregularly in the United States. The latter was determined after inquiries with the Department of Homeland Security, Naula said.

Related to the same modality of this criminal structure, in recent days three people were arrested with false Spanish documentation at the Guayaquil airport.

The captain added that it is calculated, based on the files available in the investigations, that some 50 people could have resorted to this type of travel.

For each transfer to the United States, including the processing of documents, approximately $16,000 was charged, according to police inquiries.

Fausto Olivo, Undersecretary of Immigration, indicated that the collaborator of the Undersecretary of Immigration has been working in that entity since 2013 and remarked that last year he had already been prosecuted in a similar case, which -according to the official- was only considered as witness and the process was archived.

“Unfortunately, the Prosecutor’s Office did not manage to establish responsibilities, however, the Police continued the investigative work until they were able to carry out this arrest of that citizen with the other person for the crime of capturing, directing, facilitating and actively participating in the mobility of citizens towards other countries,” added Olivo.

He mentioned that the server worked at the local airport and after the complaint was removed to another administrative position.

For now, the Police continue the investigations to determine if the total number of people is greater and if they also operated with foreign citizens seeking to reach the North American country. Likewise, the possible participation of more people in the network is investigated.

Olivo highlighted that this year the immigration control system shows greater efficiency in detected cases of inconsistencies in the documentation of passengers seeking to enter or leave the country.

In all of 2021, the Police reported 136 records of this type nationwide, while in the last three months there have already been 398 irregular events that focus on the detection of passports, visas, forged stamps and identity theft in other documents.

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In another operation, in recent days, six Venezuelan citizens were arrested in Guayaquil carrying false documents of Colombian nationality.

They intended to move to Panama and then to Mexico to try to enter the United States. (I)