El Paso man charged after stash house tied to human smuggling operation uncovered
An El Paso man is facing federal charges after agents uncovered a stash house with 16 people without legal immigration status tied to a failed smuggling attempt at a Las Cruces-area checkpoint.
Federal agents say 16 people without legal immigration status were found at El Paso residence following failed smuggling attempt at Las Cruces-area checkpoint
Organ Mountain News report
LAS CRUCES - An El Paso man has been charged in connection with an alleged human smuggling operation after federal agents uncovered a stash house containing 16 people without legal immigration status following a failed smuggling attempt at a Las Cruces-area checkpoint.
Crescencio Pacheco Olvera, 37, is charged with conspiracy to harbor, transport and bring in people without legal immigration status. He remains in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled.
According to a criminal complaint, Homeland Security Investigations agents and U.S. Border Patrol responded Feb. 13 to a failed smuggling attempt involving a tractor-trailer carrying 19 people without legal immigration status at the Las Cruces Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 25.
Investigators later identified a suspected stash house at a residence in El Paso and obtained a federal search warrant for the location.
Agents executed the warrant Feb. 26 at an apartment on Truman Avenue in El Paso, where they encountered approximately 16 people inside who told agents they were not U.S. citizens and did not have legal immigration status.
The individuals were transported to the El Paso Border Patrol Station for processing.
During interviews, two material witnesses identified Pacheco Olvera as both the caretaker of the stash house and a transport driver involved in the smuggling operation, according to court records.
One witness told investigators they entered the United States through a hole cut in the border fence near Santa Teresa before being transported to the El Paso residence, where multiple individuals were being housed.
If convicted, Pacheco Olvera faces up to 10 years in prison. The case remains pending.
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