Human traffickers sentenced for holding migrants captive in Arizona
Jun 6, 2023, 4:00 PM | Updated: Aug 18, 2023, 4:13 pm
(Pexels Photo)
(Pexels Photo)
PHOENIX — Two human traffickers have been sentenced for their roles in holding migrants captive in Arizona, authorities said Tuesday.
Olegario Lares-De La Rosa, 30, and Ivan Heriberto Borboa-Ruiz, 28, were sentenced to 15 and 14 years in prison, respectively, after pleading guilty in February, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
The men, both Mexican nationals, were arrested in April 2022 after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received a tip from someone in New York that his two cousins were being held hostage and that the captors were demanding $16,000 for their release.
The victims were undocumented immigrants part of a six-person group that was kidnapped in the desert after crossing into the United States.
The cousins were the final hostages to have the ransom paid, which happened two days after HSI was tipped off.
Borboa-Ruiz made the calls for the hostage exchange and met with undercover agents in Tucson. He was arrested after the transaction was made.
When Borboa-Ruiz was being arrested, Lares-De La Rosa took agents on a high-speed chase and was eventually arrested.
HSI conducted the investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Marana Police Department.
