A truck makes its way down I-35 coming from the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
A truck makes its way down I-35 coming from the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
Click through this gallery to see which crimes are on the rise and decline in Laredo for 2016, according to LPD's annual report.
Click through this gallery to see which crimes are on the rise and decline in Laredo for 2016, according to LPD's annual report.
Aggravated sexual offense
Number of crimes (2016): 148
Number of crimes (2015): 133
Percentage change: Up 11 percent
Aggravated sexual offense
Number of crimes (2016): 148
Number of crimes (2015): 133
Percentage change: Up 11 percent
Homicide
Number of crimes (2016): 12
Number of crimes (2015): 11
Percentage change: Up 9 percent
Homicide
Number of crimes (2016): 12
Number of crimes (2015): 11
Percentage change: Up 9 percent
Burglary (no force)
Number of crimes (2016): 364
Number of crimes (2015): 344
Percentage change: Up 6 percent
Burglary (no force)
Number of crimes (2016): 364
Number of crimes (2015): 344
Percentage change: Up 6 percent
Robbery
Number of crimes (2016): 160
Number of crimes (2015): 162
Percentage change: Down 1 percent
Robbery
Number of crimes (2016): 160
Number of crimes (2015): 162
Percentage change: Down 1 percent
Burglary (w/force)
Number of crimes (2016): 605
Number of crimes (2015): 644
Percentage change: Down
6 percent
Burglary (w/force)
Number of crimes (2016): 605
Number of crimes (2015): 644
Percentage change: Down 6 percent
Aggravated assault
Number of crimes (2016): 620
Number of crimes (2015): 669
Percentage change: Down 7 percent
Aggravated assault
Number of crimes (2016): 620
Number of crimes (2015): 669
Percentage change: Down 7 percent
Vandalism
Number of crimes (2016): 1,694
Number of crimes (2015): 1,787
Percentage change: Down 8 percent
Vandalism
Number of crimes (2016): 1,694
Number of crimes (2015): 1,787
Percentage change: Down 8 percent
Theft
Number of crimes (2016): 6,646
Number of crimes (2015): 7,286
Percentage change: Down 9 percent
Theft
Number of crimes (2016): 6,646
Number of crimes (2015): 7,286
Percentage change: Down 9 percent
Simple assault
Number of crimes (2016): 2,888
Number of crimes (2015): 3,215
Percentage change: Down 10 percent
Simple assault
Number of crimes (2016): 2,888
Number of crimes (2015): 3,215
Percentage change: Down 10 percent
Motor-vehicle theft
Number of crimes (2016): 229
Number of crimes (2015): 311
Percentage change: Down 26 percent
Motor-vehicle theft
Number of crimes (2016): 229
Number of crimes (2015): 311
Percentage change: Down 26 percent
“Smugglers will often take unusual measures in an attempt to conceal their product,” Brian J. Humphrey, Customs and Border Protection director of Field Operations in San Francisco, stated in a press release after officers found opium hidden in bars of soap.
Click through the gallery to see strange ways people try to smuggle things, leaving them to fail miserably.
less“Smugglers will often take unusual measures in an attempt to conceal their product,” Brian J. Humphrey, Customs and Border Protection director of Field Operations in San Francisco, stated in a press release
... moreBars of soap
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 8.9 pounds of opium while inspecting 66 individually boxed bars of soap Tuesday Sept. 9 at the international mail facility at San Francisco International Airport. The opium was found whgen the airmail package from Thailand was sent through a CBP monitored x-ray machine. lessBars of soap
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 8.9 pounds of opium while inspecting 66 individually boxed bars of soap Tuesday Sept. 9 at the international mail facility at San Francisco ... moreDrones
In this image released by the Tijuana Municipal Police, a drone loaded with packages containing methamphetamine lies on the ground after it crashed into a supermarket parking lot in the city of Tijuana on Tuesday Jan. 20, 2015. According to police, six packets of the drug, weighing more than six pounds, were taped to the six-propeller remote-controlled aircraft. Authorities are investigating where the flight originated and who was controlling it. He said it was not the first time they had seen drones used for smuggling drugs across the border. Other innovative efforts have included catapults, ultralight aircraft and tunnels.
lessDrones
In this image released by the Tijuana Municipal Police, a drone loaded with packages containing methamphetamine lies on the ground after it crashed into a supermarket parking lot in the city of Tijuana on
... moreDead bugs
This is a U.S. Customs handout photo of the confiscated drug ya ba, which was discovered in a shipment of dead bugs. What may seem as harmless as candy is a new form of methamphetamine called ya ba, a Thai name meaning "crazy drug," that is said to be significantly more powerful and dangerous than the current club drug of choice, Ecstasy. The smugglers have gotten creative, stuffing ya ba into CD cases, chopsticks and even dead insects.
lessDead bugs
This is a U.S. Customs handout photo of the confiscated drug ya ba, which was discovered in a shipment of dead bugs. What may seem as harmless as candy is a new form of methamphetamine called ya ba, a
... moreDiapers
Agriculture specialists with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection found a disposable diaper filled with live plants at the El Paso port of entry in April 2010.
Diapers
Agriculture specialists with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection found a disposable diaper filled with live plants at the El Paso port of entry in April 2010.
Wheelchairs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry near San Diego found five pounds of marijuana hidden in the seat of a wheelchair in March 2011.
Wheelchairs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry near San Diego found five pounds of marijuana hidden in the seat of a wheelchair in March 2011.
Submarines
Colombia's soldiers stand around a homemade submarine in Tumaco, southern Colombia, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. The vessel, made of fiber glass, was found Monday loaded with 1.6 tons of cocaine during a counter narcotics operation in Cabo Manglares, a jungle area on the southern Pacific coast. lessSubmarines
Colombia's soldiers stand around a homemade submarine in Tumaco, southern Colombia, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. The vessel, made of fiber glass, was found Monday loaded with 1.6 tons of cocaine during a ... moreBras
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport found a bra to be unusually thick, which when probed also produced a white powder that tested positive for cocaine.
lessBras
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport found a bra to be unusually thick, which when probed also produced a white powder that tested positive
... moreReal cats
In this photo taken with a cell phone early Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, and released by Brazil's General Superintendency of Prisons of Alagoas (SGAP), guards hold a cat that has items taped to its body at a medium-security prison in Arapiraca, in Alagoas state, Brazil. A prison official says they caught the cat slipping through a prison gate with a cell phone, drills, small saws and other contraband taped to its body. lessReal cats
In this photo taken with a cell phone early Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, and released by Brazil's General Superintendency of Prisons of Alagoas (SGAP), guards hold a cat that has items taped to its body at a ... moreFake cats
In this photo released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, opium is seen packaged inside porcelain cats, which were confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Fake cats
In this photo released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, opium is seen packaged inside porcelain cats, which were confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Holy water
U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Buffalo, N.Y., seized 42 vials of liquid ketamine. Warren Maynard of Barbados told officers that he was in possession of approximately 100 bottles of "holy water." Additional questioning of Maynard aroused the suspicion of the CBP officer and he was referred for a secondary enforcement exam. Maynard was then arrested.
lessHoly water
U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Buffalo, N.Y., seized 42 vials of liquid ketamine. Warren Maynard of Barbados told officers that he was in possession of approximately 100 bottles of "holy
... moreBreast implants that were filled with cocaine and being used by a woman arrested in Spain.
Breast implants that were filled with cocaine and being used by a woman arrested in Spain.
Casts
French national Farida Ali Premgi is surrounded by Pakistani custom officers Friday, June 21, 2002 at Islamabad airport in Pakistan. Premgi was arrested by custom authorities while she was trying to smuggle out 3.25 kilograms of heroin hidden in arm plaster cast, left. lessCasts
French national Farida Ali Premgi is surrounded by Pakistani custom officers Friday, June 21, 2002 at Islamabad airport in Pakistan. Premgi was arrested by custom authorities while she was trying to ... moreVideo game systems
In this photo released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, drugs are seen in a Nintendo Wii pad, which was confiscated at by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Video game systems
In this photo released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, drugs are seen in a Nintendo Wii pad, which was confiscated at by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Video game systems
In this photo released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, drugs are seen in a Nintendo Wii pad, which was confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Video game systems
In this photo released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, drugs are seen in a Nintendo Wii pad, which was confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Shot by canon
In this image released by the Mexicali Public Safety Department, a man holds up an improvised cannon that was confiscated earlier in the day in Mexicali, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Police in the border city say the cannon was used to hurl packets of marijuana across a border fence into California. lessShot by canon
In this image released by the Mexicali Public Safety Department, a man holds up an improvised cannon that was confiscated earlier in the day in Mexicali, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Police in ... moreStrollers
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized marijuana concealed in a baby stroller in June 2009 at the Calexico downtown Port of Entry in California.Strollers
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized marijuana concealed in a baby stroller in June 2009 at the Calexico downtown Port of Entry in California.Inside tires
A Hungarian customs officer uses flashlight to recover packs of heroin from a spare tire of a Turkish truck at the Nagylak border crossing on the Hungarian-Romanian border on Wednesday, June 12, 2002. A total of 84 kilograms of heroin in 164 packs were discovered by Hungarian customs officers in two spare tires of a Turkish truck carrying fresh cucumber to Germany on Wednesday. It is the largest amount of drugs seized on the Hungarian borders this year. The Turkish truck driver was arrested for drug abuse. (AP Photo/MTI/Gyoergy Nemeth) lessInside tires
A Hungarian customs officer uses flashlight to recover packs of heroin from a spare tire of a Turkish truck at the Nagylak border crossing on the Hungarian-Romanian border on Wednesday, June 12, ... moreA local crime boss who arranged the smuggling of kilos of heroin and at least 140 immigrants over a one-year period has been sentenced in a Laredo federal court.
Mariano De La Cruz, 32, received a 17-year prison sentence Tuesday after pleading guilty in April 2016 to two different indictments charging him with conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute heroin and the alien smuggling conspiracy.
Several members of De La Cruz's organization were also sentenced.
David Cuevas, 25, and Sara Rodriguez, 40, both of Laredo, and Juan Gerardo Rodriguez-Mantos, 34, an undocumented immigrants from Mexico living in Laredo who is the brother of Rodriguez, had pleaded guilty for their respective roles in the human smuggling conspiracy.
READ MORE: 27-year-old Laredo man sent nude photos to underage boy via Snapchat, police say
Cuevas received a sentence of 60 months in prison, while Rodriguez was ordered to serve 84 months.
"In sentencing Rodriguez-Mantos, the court considered the fact that he had sexually assaulted some of the victims," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
He received a 252-month-term of imprisonment for the human smuggling conspiracy and for residing illegally in the United States after deportation.
De La Cruz, also known as "Rayo" and "El Pelon," and Cuevas will also serve five years on supervised release following completion of their sentences, while Rodriguez was ordered to serve a three-year-term. Not a U.S. citizen, Rodriguez-Mantos is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
"In addition to arranging for the shipment of almost 2 kilograms of heroin from Laredo to Rhode Island, De La Cruz led a multi-city organization that transported at least 140 undocumented aliens from Laredo and Hebbronville to San Antonio and other locations over a one-year-period from late 2014 until his arrest in late 2015," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "Cuevas was De La Cruz's second in command.
"In that role, he relayed messages to and from De La Cruz, who was running the organization from prison. Rodriguez operated stash houses in Laredo for De La Cruz and also transported aliens to the brush where smugglers would then guide them around Border Patrol checkpoints."
Rodriguez-Mantos assisted his sister in running the stash houses, maintained order among the immigrants and was a part-time foot guide.
"During that time, he sexually-assaulted some of the female immigrants and brutalized others who refused to comply with his orders," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "At times, he demonstrated his authority with a baseball bat and threatened them with a rifle that he claimed was a BB gun.
Cuevas was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. De La Cruz and the others have been and will remain in custody.
RELATED: Trio accused of manning Laredo tire shop for Melendez drug ring sentenced to prison
Three others who also pleaded to the human smuggling conspiracy were sentenced previously to terms ranging from 24-36 months in prison.
In the drug conspiracy, Juan Contreras, 29, of La Vernia, received a 60-month-term of imprisonment for physically transporting the heroin to Rhode Island.
HSI and Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Homero Ramirez prosecuted the case.
"HSI is dedicated to working closely with all of our law enforcement partners to effectively in identify, arrest and prosecute individuals involved in exploiting people," said Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. "Criminals who illegally smuggle people into and throughout the country place personal profit ahead of public safety. For this reason, HSI will continue to utilize its broad authorities to dismantle human smuggling organizations."
Acting Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Joel Martinez from the Laredo Sector Border Patrol added, "I commend the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security representing the Joint Task Force-West South Texas Corridor Laredo Area Team who worked tirelessly to dismantle this organization. Their joint efforts represents our commitment in disrupting and dismantling criminal organizations in South Texas."
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