EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) –  A federal grand jury has indicted four alleged members of a significant Phoenix-based migrant smuggling organization.

Wednesday’s indictment charges Gustavo Villalobos Rios, Ediberto Hernadez Pineda, Omar Ramirez Martinez, and Jennifer Amancha Gonzalez with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens. The four allegedly arranged transport for dozens of undocumented migrants that evaded apprehension from the border wall to one of two stash houses in Phoenix.

The defendants allegedly confiscated the migrants’ cell phones and kept them barefoot in a crowded bedroom they were not supposed to leave except to use the bathroom. They also demanded thousands of dollars for their release and threatened to kill them after one of their peers escaped, according to a federal criminal complaint.

U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations agents identified Villalobos as the principal coordinator of the Pajaro HSO (human smuggling organization). He and Amancha, who witnesses describe as his girlfriend and investigators allege was a “top-tier coordinator,” were arrested on November 27, 2023.

According to court documents, other defendants stated that Villalobos, a.k.a. “El Exito” (Success), paid them and gave them directions for operating the main stash house on West Rancho Drive with up to 35 migrants. A vehicle registered in Arizona to Villalobos was previously involved in a high-speed pursuit in Pinal County in which four undocumented migrants were apprehended.

Migrants found at the Phoenix stash house and held as material witnesses identified Villalobos as the man who brandished an AK-47 style rifle and allegedly threatened to kill them in a rage after learning that one escaped, court records show.

A material witness told investigators Villalobos brandished the rifle at them while yelling that none of them would be allowed to leave until someone paid the fee owed by the man who fled. “You guys don’t want me to stay here because I don’t mess around!” the witness quoted Villalobos.

Villalobos appeared for a deposition this week before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Z. Boyle in Phoenix and requested a Spanish interpreter. He has been ordered held without because he has an unspecified prior criminal record; he is an undocumented non-citizen himself and represents a flight risk, records show.

The judge ordered the release of the migrants held as material witnesses – Edgar Cuxum Tecu, Edvin Palanco, and Dani Perez Moro – so they could be returned to their countries of origin. Records show Villalobos waived his right to cross-examine the witnesses.

Further court dates for the defendants are pending.