- The authorities point out that the woman charged up to $15,000 to each person interested in crossing into the American Union
A few days ago, the authorities of El Mirage, Arizona, arrested Tania Estudillo Hernández, 24, who is accused of having smuggled hundreds of illegal immigrants to the United States in exchange for up to $15,000 dollars to cross them through the border with Mexico.
The Arizona woman was arrested by police after a couple of her accomplices were pulled over at a traffic stop where they were found to be transporting a Guatemalan citizen.
However, for several days, they were already being tracked after another woman denounced through a phone call that Tania used to ask for ransom from the relatives of undocumented immigrants who fell into her hands.
“The person she called said that there were several kidnapped victims, including her husband,” police told the media.
After the police arrested the illegal smugglers, they were forced to reveal the address where Tania Estudillo operated.
In that place, the authorities found several people who had naively approached the smuggler with the aim of entering US territory illegally, but ended up being deprived of their liberty.
Once detained, Tania Estudillo Hernández was confiscated a semi-automatic rifle, two pistols, ammunition, but above all accounting books where she kept track of human trafficking and the amount of income that represented her.
Based on these accounts, it is estimated that in the last six months the alleged smuggler obtained payments from between 80 and 100 immigrants every 30 days.
It should be noted that El Mirage, where Tania Estudillo and her criminal group operated, is located 25 miles northwest of Phoenix and about 130 miles from the Arizona-Mexico border.