Las Vegas, Nev. - Three men were indicted yesterday in U.S. District Court on charges that they smuggled aliens from Mexico to Las Vegas in exchange for money, and harbored them in a Henderson residence, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

JOSE AGUILAR-ALCARA, age 25, JOSE HUIZAR-TORRES, age 25, and ALEJANDRO PEREZ-ORTIZ, age 22, are charged with one count of conspiracy to conceal, harbor and transport aliens from Mexico for the purpose of financial gain, one count of transportation of an illegal alien, and one count of harboring an illegal alien. JOSE AGUILAR-ALCARA is further charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States following deportation. If convicted, they are facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the charges. If convicted, AGUILAR-ALCARA also faces up to two years in prison on the unlawful re-entry charge.

The Indictment alleges that between approximately August 21 and August 25, 2005, the defendants harbored and concealed an alien in a residence at 2653 Hourglass Drive, in Henderson, Nevada, and transported approximately 10 aliens from Las Vegas to other destinations in the United States. The Indictment further alleges that defendant is an alien who had been previously been removed from the United States and had unlawfully re-entered the United States without the consent of the United States Government.

The defendants have been in custody since the date of their arrest on August 24, 2005. According to the Criminal Complaint filed at the time of their arrest, an individual who lived at 2647 Hourglass Drive called the Henderson Police Department on August 24, 2005, to report that a distraught woman had entered her home seeking emergency assistance. When police officers responded to the call, the distraught woman reported that she had paid individuals to smuggle her from Mexico into the United States on August 21, 2005. She reported that she was first taken to Phoenix, Arizona, and moved to Las Vegas on August 21, 2005, with 25 other illegal aliens. The woman reported that she had been harbored by the defendants at 2653 Hourglass Drive since that date, and that she had been physically prevented from leaving the house. She reported that she escaped on August 24, 2005, and ran to the neighbor's house. All three defendants were arrested in the area.

Upon conviction, the Indictment also seeks the forfeiture of the home at 2653 Hourglass Drive, five automobiles, a laptop computer, and five cellular telephones.

The case is being investigated by Officers with the Henderson Police Department and Special Agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karyn Kenny.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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