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Human Smuggling Ring: Mexican Nationals Extorted Workers They Smuggled Into CT, Feds Say
Two Mexican citizens smuggled several people to Connecticut for tens of thousands of dollars, and once they reached the state, the victims were extorted and forced to work off an impossible debt, federal authorities said.
Maria Del Carmen Sanchez, age 69, and Apolinar Francisco Paredes Espinoza (aka "Pancho"), age 56, helped illegally bring 10 people from Mexico to Hartford beginning in September, the US Attorney for Connecticut said. Federal investigators arrested them on Wednesday, March 1.
Sanchez and Paredes charged each person between $15,000 and $20,000, a debt they would …
