A Texas truck driver has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for his role in smuggling people who illegally came to the United States from Mexico.
Sedrick Zelitis Smith, 47, of Dallas, used his CDL to assist a human smuggling organization. He coordinated the transport of migrants who arrived in Laredo, Texas, from Mexico. Authorities say he served as the go-between for the smuggling ring’s leadership and assisted with driving migrants from Laredo to San Antonio.
Homeland Security Investigations began investigating the organization in May 2021. The ring smuggled more than 900 people from Laredo to San Antonio inside tractor-trailers, sometimes packing more than 100 people into a trailer, authorities said.
“Justice was served for a human smuggler responsible for coordinating the transportation of hundreds of noncitizens from Laredo to San Antonio. These noncitizens were crammed into tractor trailers, during multiple smuggling events in the stifling Texas heat,” Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee for HSI San Antonio said in a statement. “HSI is committed to aggressively target human smugglers and smuggling organizations who continually victimize people for profit.”
Nine others were indicted, including Bryan Adamson, Ronnie Joe Branch, Eliseo Loredo, Rodney Edward Shavers, Mark Algie Holliday, Francisco Arredondo-Colmenero and Debbie Marie Gonzales. They await legal proceedings, authorities said. Fredi Zagala-Servin was sentenced to 97 months in prison. Norman Lee Walker Jr. was arrested in May.