The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Thursday against a Sierra Leonean national, Abdul Karim Conteh, for allegedly leading a smuggling ring that brought thousands of migrants from Asia and Africa into the United States.
Conteh’s organization is accused of providing migrants with false documents, transporting them to the U.S.-Mexico border, and offering advice on how to cross illegally.
The group reportedly exploited lax visa requirements in Nicaragua to facilitate some migrant movement.
Authorities allege Conteh’s network catered to people from a diverse range of countries, including China, Iran, Russia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria.
Conteh himself was apprehended in Tijuana, Mexico, on July 11th. The U.S. is currently seeking his extradition on federal migrant smuggling charges.
The sanctions also target Conteh’s Mexican spouse, Veronica Roblero, along with two additional individuals from Sierra Leone and Togo.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) claims the ring laundered money through the U.S. financial system, obtained from the migrants they assisted.
The sanctions imposed freeze any assets the targets hold within U.S. jurisdiction and bar American citizens from engaging in any transactions with them.
