
The local channel of Miami Local 10 News accessed federal court records on Wednesday, revealing the identities of three people believed to be involved in the illegal smuggling of more than two dozen immigrants, mostly from China, into South Florida.
According to a federal criminal complaint, an observer in the Snapper Creek Lakes area of Coral Gables reported witnessing what appeared to be a kidnapping around 9:30 a.m. Friday: A man was seen “violently pushing” a woman into the back of a Toyota Corolla with Texas license plates, which was located near a U-Haul van.
Authorities said a vigilant individual recorded the incident on his or her phone and located a Coral Gables police officer to report it. Police successfully located the vehicles in the 6700 block of LeJeune Road, leading to the arrest of 28 people, which included the alleged traffickers: Keiner Cicilia-Rodriguez, Lucas Sedeno-Rodriguez and Jose Luis Villares.
According to federal agents, Villares, 55, was driving a U-Haul van containing 22 migrants, with the windows covered with cardboard boxes to conceal their presence.
According to reports, Sedeno-Rodriguez, 52, was behind the wheel of the Corolla, while Cicilia-Rodriguez, 39, was in the front passenger seat. In the back, there were three migrants.
All three individuals involved are Cuban citizens. According to officials, in addition to those from China, the migrants they helped traffic were originally from Ecuador and Brazil.
According to the complaint, they arrived by boat from the Bahamas, and reports indicate they made landfall near Snapper Creek.
The complaint states that Sedeno-Rodriguez told investigators that a person named “Miggy,” who he believes is a human trafficker from the Bahamas, approached him in Homestead and offered him $5,000 to transport migrants to a different destination.
In federal court in Miami, the three individuals are being prosecuted for the transportation, movement, or attempted transportation or movement of an alien within the United States.
As of Wednesday, federal arrest records indicate Villares and Sedeno-Rodriguez were incarcerated at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami.