A man from Texas has been sentenced to several years in federal prison for orchestrating a human smuggling operation that involved thousands of undocumented immigrants.
Isai Orona, also known as “Panda,” has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Texas. The charges against him include conspiracy to transport aliens and transporting aliens.
According to court documents, it was revealed that Orona was identified as the organizer of the smuggling scheme in WhatsApp communications.
In 2023, he confessed to smuggling over 2,500 illegal immigrants into the United States over a period of six months. A significant number of these individuals were transported to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
According to his statement, he mentioned having a group of drivers who assisted him in smuggling the undocumented immigrants using a fleet of 12 vehicles. During an arrest made by U.S. Border Patrol agents in El Paso, a co-conspirator was apprehended for transporting nine illegal immigrants. Interestingly, the vehicle used for the smuggling operation was found to be registered under Orona’s name.
On November 20, 2023, he was arrested and later admitted his guilt for the mentioned crimes on July 12, 2024.
Apart from serving a prison sentence of four and a half years, Orona has also been ordered by the court to pay a money judgment of $250,000.
