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Two charged in human smuggling try
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Posted on Aug 08 2004
Authorities busted a human smuggling attempt when a boat carrying four Chinese nationals got lost at sea as it headed to Guam from Tinian.
Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against boat pilot Edward Mendiola Fleming and Huang Zhong, a Chinese national, for recruiting three other Chinese nationals to unlawfully enter Guam.
In a superseding indictment filed in federal court Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie D. Bowers charged the two defendants with conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and attempted alien smuggling for financial gain.
The two defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday, prompting the court to set the case for trial beginning on Sept. 13.
Bowers accused Fleming and Zhong of planning to take aliens to Guam in exchange for money. The defendants had allegedly planned on transporting the aliens by boat and dropping the passengers off on Guam, particularly at a place that was not designated as a port of entry.
Zhong allegedly collected money from the passengers and financed the supplies needed for the boat trip, including gasoline. Fleming piloted the boat, Bowers said.
The boat left Tinian in the early morning of April 5 and headed to Guam.
During the trip, the boat got lost in rough seas, forcing Fleming to call 911 through a cellular phone for navigational assistance. The group aborted the Guam trip and sailed to nearby Rota instead.
“By conspiring to and attempting to smuggle aliens by boat in rough and dangerous seas, the defendants recklessly risked the lives and safety of the alien passengers,” Bowers added. (John Ravelo)
