President Trump’s DOJ has just announced the arrest and indictment of 14 members of an extensive smuggling organization, which brought illegals from Mexico over the southern border.

Here’s the news:

Fourteen alleged members of a prolific alien smuggling organization were charged for their roles smuggling aliens from South and Central America into the United States via the southern border.

A grand jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, returned an indictment on Feb. 19 against 14 individuals for conspiracy to transport, harbor, and bring in illegal aliens to the United States. Eight of those charged were arrested on Feb. 20 and 21.

“Today’s indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in a sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle aliens into and throughout the United States at great danger to the aliens, resulting in the death of one person,” said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Justice Department worked with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to dismantle an alien smuggling organization based in Mexico that has allegedly smuggled hundreds of illegal aliens, including unaccompanied children, through New Mexico and South Texas. We are committed to eliminating transnational alien smuggling organizations that exploit migrants purely for profit and undermine our national security.”

According to the indictment unsealed today, the defendants participated in a conspiracy to illegally bring undocumented aliens from Mexico into the United States via the U.S. southern border. The indictment alleges that the defendants were also responsible for transporting the aliens within the United States and concealing them in “stash houses” along the way. During some of the smuggling events, the defendants allegedly evaded law enforcement by travelling at high rates of speed on the road and instructing aliens how to flee U.S. Border Patrol and evade checkpoints. Additionally, the indictment alleges that one undocumented alien died from heat exposure during a smuggling event and was abandoned in the desert.

Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to bring to, transport, and harbor illegal aliens in the United States. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

ICE HSI El Paso and the U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case. U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), ICE HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., and the Texas Department of Public Safety provided substantial assistance with the investigation.