He was arrested on Thursday.
Baltimore, Md (KM) A federal grand jury has indicted a Frederick man on a charge of conspiracy to commit human trafficking. The US Attorney’s Office for Maryland says Martir Jandres, 42, was arrested following a year long investigation into the smuggling of illegal aliens into the US through Texas, and then transporting them throughout the country.
Federal prosecutors say between October, 2016, and February, 2017, Jandres conspired with numerous individuals in the US, Mexico and Central America to bring these illegal aliens into the country by bypassing inspection at US Border Patrol checkpoints. Once in the country, they were placed in “stash houses” until transportation could be arranged. Then local “load drivers” would enable the aliens to leave the border area and be transported to the interior parts of the US. During the course of their investigation, US Department of Homeland Security agents working undercover posed as “load drivers.”
If convicted, Jandres could face up to ten years in prison, federal officials say..
The US Attorney’s Office says the indictment was returned on March 16th, but was unsealed on Thursday following Jandres’ arrest and the serving of a search warrant on his home.
In addition to the US Attorney’s Office for Maryland, and the Department of Homeland Security, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and the IRS also worked on this investigation.
The US Attorney’s Office says an indictment is not a presumption of guilt, and all defendants are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
By Kevin McManus