A illegal alien smuggler from Mexico who had been arrested 24 times since 1999 was finally sentenced to five years in prison.
Efrain Delgado-Rosales, 35, was sentenced in San Diego for bringing an illegal alien into the U.S. for financial gain,
Fox News reported. First arrested on July 19, 1999, Delgado-Rosales was accompanied by anywhere from two to 46 illegal immigrants during 23 of his 24 arrests.
Delgado-Rosales was sentenced for abandoning four Mexican men in the Otay Mountains,
KNSD-TV reported. Delgado-Rosales left the men for hours on the Mexico side of the border, where they were robbed of thousands of dollars and their cell phones. They believed Delgado-Rosales was involved because he seemed indifferent and unsurprised, the station noted.
Delgado-Rosales was arrested along with the men by U.S. Border Patrol agents about a mile north of the border.
The men paid $5,000 each to Delgado-Rosales to guide them across the border, the
San Diego Tribune reported.
“This case serves as an example of the extreme dangers associated with crossing illegally into the United States,” U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said. “Smuggling activities are run by criminal organizations that have little concern over the welfare of their charges. Our office will aggressively prosecute those who smuggle illegal aliens into the United States for financial gain, place those in their company in grave danger and needlessly cause deaths.”
During his previous arrests, Delgado-Rosales was processed and deported to Mexico,
CNN reported.
Twitter users had mixed reactions to the sentencing.
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