Alleged Human Smugglers Used Newark Airport To Sneak Undocumented Immigrants Into U.S., Authorities Say

Authorities have charged two Indian nationals with conspiring to smuggle undocumented immigrants into the United States via an international pipeline involving Newark Liberty Airport.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (NJ), police arrested Nileshkumar Patel, 41, and Harsad Mehta, 65, both of India, at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday.

Authorities charged both with conspiracy to bring in and harbor aliens. Patel is also charged with six counts of smuggling foreign nationals into the United States for private financial gain; Mehta is facing four counts.

According to prosecutors, the criminal complaint was the result of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation launched in June of 2013.

A special agent involved in the investigation testified that the sting began when the DHS received information that Patel and Mehta were attempting to illegally smuggle foreign nationals from India into the United States.

According to the agent, in April of 2014, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a smuggler arranged a meeting with the two men in Bangkok, Thailand.

During the meeting, Mehta allegedly told the undercover officer that he and Patel had two, 20-year-old women that they wanted to relocate from Bangkok to the United States, with the possibility of moving more if the first operation was successful.

After the undercover officer told the two men that the fee would be $40,000 per person, they allegedly agreed to wire a $10,000 down payment for each individual to be smuggled into the United States and to pay the remaining balance once they arrived.

According to authorities, Mehta and Patel agreed to transport the women from India to Thailand, at which point the undercover law enforcement officer would help to smuggle them into the United States via commercial airline flights.

In July, Mehta and Patel allegedly brought two Indian nationals to the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok to be smuggled into the United States. They allegedly gave the undercover officer an envelope containing $5,000 in U.S. currency and told him that an additional $5,000 would be in the transferred to the officer’s bank account when the individuals arrived in the United States.

At that time, the two Indian nationals accompanied the undercover officer onto the flight, which arrived in Newark without incident.

Once in Newark, authorities transported the two undocumented immigrants to a local hotel and made contact via phone with a man who claimed to be their “uncle.”

Shortly afterwards, a man arrived at the hotel, gave the undercover officer $5,000, and left with the two women.

Mehta and Patel then paid the remaining $70,000 of the smuggling fee over the next few days, authorities stated.

Over the ensuing months, Patel and Mehta allegedly arranged for multiple Indian nationals to be smuggled into the United States in the same fashion, authorities claim.

File photo of Newark Airport via Wikimedia