United States Federal authorities have announced sanctions and criminal charges against Sierra Leonean national Abdul Karim Conteh, alleged leader of an international smuggling ring.
The group, reportedly based in Tijuana, is accused of facilitating the illegal entry of thousands of undocumented migrants from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East into the United States.
Conteh, 42, and his 25-year-old Mexican wife, Veronica Roblero Pivaral, are central figures in the smuggling operation.
An unsealed indictment alleges that over several years, they conspired with others to transport migrants from their home countries through South and Central America to the U.S. border. Conteh reportedly oversaw and assisted with their illegal entry using ladders, tunnels, and other means.
The Department of Justice announced that Conteh was arrested in Tijuana on July 11, and the U.S. is seeking his extradition. Roblero remains at large.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned the smuggling group, now labeled the Abdul Karim Conteh Human Smuggling Organization.
The sanctions target Conteh, his wife, and two other alleged facilitators: Issa Kamara from Sierra Leone and Pasaman Francis Marin Abbe Pidoukou from Togo. The organization is accused of providing fraudulent documents, leveraging the U.S. financial system for payments, transporting migrants to the border, and advising them on crossing.
The indictment names Conteh and Roblero, with additional defendants’ names redacted. It is unclear if Kamara and Pidoukou are among those charged.
The charges against the defendants include conspiracy to smuggle migrants into the U.S., carrying a maximum 10-year prison sentence, and Conteh faces three additional counts of unlawful smuggling for financial gain.
Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, emphasized the impact of the sanctions, stating they disrupt those who exploit and endanger individuals seeking better lives. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also condemned the alleged actions, with Mayorkas warning potential migrants against trusting smugglers.
The indictment claims the smuggled migrants originated from diverse countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Somalia, Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Egypt, Russia, China, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. They were transported to the U.S. border via various countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala.
Conteh’s group is the fourth large-scale, transnational human-smuggling organization targeted by OFAC sanctions in recent times, following similar actions against groups like Tren de Aragua, Malas Mañas, and the Hernandez Salas organization.
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