Boston:
US authorities have busted an international human trafficking racket and charged six persons for allegedly smuggling people from India and Brazil into the US borders.
The defendants allegedly facilitated and monitored the travel of people along two primary smuggling routes the first through Central America and across the international border between Mexico and the US and the second route through the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
The six persons charged in New Jersey include Brazilians Nacip Teotonio Pires, Rubens Da Silva, Sanderlei Alves DaCruz, Francismar Da Conceicao, Claudinei Pereira Mota and Priscilla LNU.
From January 2008 till June 2011, they conspired to bring people into the country illegally from Brazil, India and elsewhere as part of an elaborate for-profit alien smuggling scheme.
"Alien smugglers make big business of exploiting dreams and treating people as human cargo. Smuggling routes snake around the globe, with facilitators and customers colluding to commit crimes," New Jersey US Attorney Paul Fishman said.
Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and USD 250,000 fine.
According to the law enforcement agents, the defendants allegedly charged people from USD 13,000 to more than USD 25,000 to smuggle them into the country.
The six also smuggled young women from Brazil, who worked as dancers in strip clubs in US.
They allegedly instructed their customers, if caught crossing the border to make up asylum claims and falsely report that they would be abused or could face prosecution at home, court documents showed.