The leader of a human smuggling organization with ties to the notorious Avenues street gang was sentenced on March 21 to 25 years in federal prison, one of the longest prison terms ever imposed in Los Angeles in a human smuggling case.

United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez  sentenced Eduardo “Tito” Alvarez-Marquez, 37, a resident of Glassell Park. Last September, a federal jury convicted Alvarez-Marquez of two felony counts of conspiracy to smuggle into the United States aliens who were previously convicted of aggravated felonies, and harboring an illegal alien. Alvarez-Marquez had already pleaded guilty to another alien-smuggling conspiracy.

The smuggling operation was responsible for bringing at least 200 illegal aliens a year into the United States. The individuals paid Alvarez-Marquez up to $4,500 in smuggling fees. Evidence presented at the trial showed that the Alvarez-Marquez organization charged criminal aliens a premium to be smuggled into the United States inside hidden compartments in vehicles. In one incident, Alvarez-Marquez refused to release an ailing three-month-old infant to his family until a $1,200 smuggling fee was paid. Judge Gutierrez also found that the smuggling organization was responsible for a July 2009 incident in which 26 illegal aliens were discovered locked inside a freezer truck in Imperial, California.

“The severity of this sentence is absolutely appropriate given the ruthless nature of the smuggling trade and specifically the tactics used by this organization,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of the ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles. “As human smugglers have shown time and time again, they have no qualms about putting their clients and our communities at risk in hopes of turning a profit.”

In addition, Gutierrez sentenced a second defendant, Ruben Servin-Mejia, 38, to 51 months in federal prison. Servin-Mejia was responsible for arranging covert transportation for the ring’s smuggling clients.