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HOUSTON - A Houston man has been sentenced to federal prison for organizing a human smuggling ring.
Charles Lee Smith, 55, pleaded guilty in December 2021 for organizing a human smuggling ring where he recruited and directed other people to transport "unlawfully present" migrants into the United States, says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He will have to spend 10 years behind bars.
After his sentence, Smith will have to immediately do three years of supervised release.
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For nearly seven months from Feb. 26, 2021, through Sept. 14, 2021, ICE says Smith recruited people to illegally transport migrants from Laredo to San Antonio, Houston, and other locations.
Authorities claim Smith was responsible for providing and paying for the load vehicles, as well as travel expenses and lodging for the drivers he recruited.
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Smith overlooked the transport of close to 182 migrants, including six unaccompanied minors, officials say.
According to ICE, on Dec. 8, 2020, he personally transported three migrants and was apprehended, but after the incident, he began recruiting others to drive.
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Smith hired Brandon Joseph Bartholomew, a 40-year-old resident of Magnolia, on Sept. 9, 2021. And contracted him for $10,000 to transport semitractor trailers with migrants from Laredo to Houston.
Smith allegedly told Bartholomew he would be able to take multiple loads that week, officials say.
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According to authorities, Bartholomew drove a trailer to the border checkpoint near Freer on Sep. 14, 2021. He told officials he was carrying rice and beans and showed them a fake bill of lading.
Upon inspection, the border officials saw the logos and Department of Transportation number printed on the tractor and trailer were fraudulent.
When they cut the trailer door seal open, they reportedly found 49 migrants from Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala inside.
The temperature inside the enclosed trailer was 91 degrees Fahrenheit and on April 19, 2022, Bartholomew was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.
Smith will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Texas Department of Public Safety assisted with the investigation into the other individuals involved in illegally transporting migrants. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isaac prosecuted this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colton Turner handled the sentencing.