DOJ busts Syrian illegal immigration smuggling operation

Washington Times:

The Treasury Department slapped sanctions Wednesday on a Syrian man and his criminal syndicate, blaming them for smuggling “hundreds” of illegal immigrants from Syria and Lebanon into Mexico and then helping them to jump the border into the U.S.

Nasif Barakat and his syndicate, which authorities labeled the Barakat Transnational Criminal Organization, charged about $20,000 to complete the smuggling. The money paid for bribes and for fake documents, including false European passports, to help illegal immigrants hide their identities. The fees also covered transportation from Syria through other Middle Eastern countries to South and Central America, the journey north through Mexico, and final help sneaking into the U.S.

Authorities said the sanctions will freeze the syndicate’s assets, which should undermine the smuggling operation.

The case has been pursued by the Treasury Department, Homeland Security and the Justice Department.
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The Treasury Department said his network would recruit customers from Syria and Lebanon, send them through either Turkey or the United Arab Emirates, where they would catch flights to Brazil, then make their way north through Venezuela, Colombia and Panama, then up through Central America and Mexico.

That turns out to be a common route for people being smuggled from terrorist-connected countries.
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I bet this guy really misses Obama and his open borders policy.   He used a costly circuitous route for his smuggling operation.  Both Turkey and the UAE are less than stellar players when it comes to human trafficking.