Alleged Human Smuggling Ringleader Arrested, To Be Extradited To SD

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man accused of leading a Tijuana-based human smuggling organization responsible for bringing thousands of migrants into the United States through Mexico was arrested and charged in a grand jury indictment unsealed this week.

Abdul Karim Conteh, 42, of Sierra Leone, is accused of running a group that smuggled migrants from various countries, some of whom paid tens of thousands of dollars to be brought in.

The indictment states the smuggled migrants hailed from numerous countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Somalia, Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritania, Ethiopia and Egypt.