SAN DIEGO, June 22 (UPI) -- Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents have been sentenced to as much as 35 years in prison for their roles in smuggling more than 500 people into California.
One of the agents had been the public face of the agency in the San Diego area, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Raul Villarreal, 44, who was convicted of leading the smuggling ring, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison. His brother, Fidel Villarreal, 45, received a 30-year sentence for managing the operation.
In handing down the lengthy sentences, U.S. District Judge John Houston said he hoped they would be a deterrent to other law enforcement officers.
Raul Villarreal had appeared in a public service announcement discouraging immigrants from making dangerous border crossings.
The brothers were convicted in August 2012 of working with Mexican smugglers who guided immigrants through rugged country east of San Diego. The Villarreals then picked up the immigrants and transported them further inland.
Federal officials said the scheme, which operated from 2005 to 2006, generated about $4 million in profits for its operators.
The brothers fled their homes in San Diego in 2006 after being tipped about the investigation. Mexican police arrested them two years later in Tijuana.
