Five arrested in Phoenix smuggling operation holding migrants in stash houses
Apr 30, 2026·Location: Phoenix, AZ
Country of origin: Guatemala

Ingrid Bolanos-Gomez, 41, of Guatemala, along with Mexican nationals Alejandro Ambrocio-Espinosa, 32, Enrique Cervantes-Barrera, 48, Rigoberto Rangel-Mora, 40, and Jesus Marin-Esquivel, 52, were indicted on federal conspiracy charges for transporting and harboring migrants through a Phoenix-based smuggling network. Authorities arrested two of the group on April 28 after a traffic stop near Cordes Lakes turned up 11 people in a minivan, part of a fleet investigators had tracked making cross-country trips using vehicles with charity license plates. Search warrants on April 30 at three Phoenix stash houses uncovered 22 more people who told investigators they were barred from leaving their assigned spaces, denied phone calls, given insufficient food and forced to sleep on the floor in unsanitary conditions. The five defendants face up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Sources
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