LOS ANGELES
A Mexican man was sentenced Monday to 110 months in federal prison for trafficking 11 undocumented individuals, as well as 45 pounds of methamphetamine, on a panga boat that landed on a Santa Barbara County beach.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer sentenced to Jorge Muoz-Muoz, 27, of Ensenada, Mexico.
After a five-day trial in December 2022, a federal jury found Muñoz-Muñoz guilty of one count of conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States, 11 counts of alien smuggling, 11 counts of alien smuggling for private financial gain, one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of conspiracy to import methamphetamine, and one count of importation of methamphetamine.
On the morning of September 27, 2021, law enforcement sighted a panga boat adrift off the coast of Santa Barbara County.
The vessel, which was having engine trouble, ultimately landed at Arroyo Quemada Beach, approximately 25 miles west of Santa Barbara.
The investigation into this matter indicated that were 15 people on the boat, including several crew members.
On Muoz-Muoz’s orders, passengers threw two black bags containing 40 vacuum-sealed and plastic-wrapped bindles off the boat, which law enforcement later found.
Authorities also later confirmed that all the occupants of the boat were undocumented aliens. Based on interviews with the passengers, it was determined that they arrived at a beach in Ensenada, Mexico, to board a panga that would smuggle them into the United States for approximately $15,000 each.
On July 6, Judge Fischer ordered Muñoz-Muñoz acquitted of one count of aiding and assisting an alien convicted of an aggravated felony to enter the United States.
Muñoz-Muñoz has been in federal custody since his arrest in September 2021.
Roel Aranzubia-Álvarez, 45, of Sinaloa, Mexico, the panga boat’s captain, was convicted at trial with Muñoz-Muñoz of alien smuggling charges in this case and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
Another defendant and panga boat crewmember, Caín Camargo-López, 46, of Sinaloa, Mexico, pleaded guilty in April 2022 to two counts of alien smuggling and one count of conspiring to allow an alien convicted of aggravated felonies to enter the United States. On August 7, Judge Fischer sentenced Camargo-López to five years in federal prison.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Haoxiaohan Cai of the General Crimes Section and Justice Department Trial Attorney Siobhan M. Namazi prosecuted this case.