TUCSON, AZ – A Phoenix woman, Amalia Gonzalez-Lara, pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with her role as the coordinator of a human smuggling operation in Avondale.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nogales assisted by U.S. Border Patrol collaborated on the case.
The 43-year-old Gonzalez-Lara admitted that she conspired to transport and harbor over 100 illegal aliens for profit during a proceeding before the U.S. Magistrate Judge.
On Jan. 12, law enforcement agents located 20 undocumented people, all nationals of Mexico or Guatemala, inside a residence located at 1905 North 119th Drive in Avondale, Arizona. Over the course of the conspiracy, the house was used to conceal large numbers of foreign nationals who had been smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border and transported to the Phoenix area. Special agents with HSI and U.S. Border Patrol made the arrests.
Co-conspirator Sergio Vazquez-Flores, 46, of Goodyear, Arizona, pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport and harbor over 100 illegal aliens for profit on Nov. 5. Vazquez-Flores operated the stash house at the Avondale address on behalf of Gonzalez-Lara.
A conviction for Conspiracy to Transport and Harbor Illegal Aliens for Profit carries a maximum penalty of ten years, a maximum fine of $250,000, or both.
Sentencing for Vazquez-Flores is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2022, and for Gonzalez-Lara on Feb. 1, 2022.