 A Jordanian man has pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to smuggle fellow countrymen and Iraqis into the United States, officials said on Tuesday. Thaer Omran Ismail Asaifi, 35, entered his guilty plea in the US District Court in Washington. Asaifi and his wife, Neeran Hakim Zaia, were indicted in October on charges they illegally helped bring more than 200 Iraqis and Jordanians into the United States through Ecuador and Peru from 2001 until Zaia's arrest in September 2004.
| Right. The nation really needed 200 undocumented Iraqis and Jordanians. |
Authorities believe Asaifi and Zaia, a US citizen, were trying to make money from the operation and have discounted any ties to terrorism. Zaia, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, remains under indictment. The couple worked with travel agents in the Middle East and smugglers in South America, charging $5,000 to $10,000 a person, according to the indictment. The would-be immigrants travelled mainly from Jordan to various spots in South America. After a layover, they boarded flights to Dulles International Airport, just outside Washington, authorities said. An undercover US agent posing as a smuggler helped infiltrate the operation. Asaifi faces a prison term of six to eight years, after which he will be deported, officials said. Sentencing is scheduled for May. |