ICE arrests SJPD officer for human smuggling

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A San Juan Police Department (SJPD) officer was arrested Friday on human smuggling charges. The arrest follows a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) probe into the allegations against the officer.

According to court records, Luz Zoraida Rojas-Delgado, 32, established communication with an individual to request assistance to smuggle a friend from Antigua to Puerto Rico. The criminal complaint also alleges that she engaged in communications with other people in an attempt to make a deal for the venture but did not agree with the price of $3,000 established by the alleged smuggler.

The HSI investigation revealed that on Aug. 25, Rojas-Delgado agreed with an undercover agent, who she believed was a smuggler, to bring her Dominican friend from Antigua for $2,800. HSI special agents arrested her at a local fast food restaurant after she met with an undercover agent to whom she paid $1,800. The criminal complaint further alleges that Rojas-Delgado stated that she was working on building a case against transporters to later turn it over to pertinent agencies. HSI special agents were able to confirm with the SJPD that Rojas-Delgado was not working on any authorized operation at the time of her arrest.

Rojas-Delgado had her initial hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marcos Lopez who released her on bail Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Erbe is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Rojas-Delgado faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

ICE has embarked on an ambitious strategy to dismantle organized human smuggling networks. First, ICE pursues intelligence-driven investigations to target large-scale smuggling organizations regardless of where they operate. Particular emphasis is placed on smuggling rings that pose a national security risk, jeopardize lives or engage in violence, abuse, hostage-taking or extortion. Second, ICE coordinates with partners at U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure aggressive investigation and prosecution of smuggling cases along the border. Third, ICE targets all links in the smuggling chain, beyond the immediate smugglers. For example, ICE seeks to target the overseas recruiters and organizers, the fraudulent document vendors, and the transportation and employment networks that benefit from alien smuggling within the United States. Finally, ICE will pursue legislation to increase penalties against organized smugglers and provide additional criminal offenses to better address spotters who assist criminals with smuggling aliens and contraband.