Eight Defendants Indicted for Human Smuggling and Drug Conspiracy Offenses

Eight individuals were charged in an indictment, unsealed today in the Eastern District of Louisiana, for their involvement in an international scheme to smuggle 24 undocumented individuals from Honduras into Louisiana aboard the Motor Vessel (M/V) “Pop,” which is owned by one of the defendants. One of the defendants was also arrested for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 24 kilograms of cocaine seized on this boat which the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted off the coast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, in February 2022.