Five mainland Florida residents were arrested Monday on state human smuggling charges after they were detained by federal law enforcement authorities.
Humberto Tamayo, 48, of Miami, Florida; Omar Livan Ripoll Perez, 28, of Miami, Florida; Dianelys Perez Escourido, 44, of Miami, Florida; Joel Gil Egued 48, of Cape Coral, Florida; and Victor Victor Febales Gualpa, 38, of West Palm Beach, Florida; were all charged with 20 felony counts of human smuggling.
U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine agents stopped and detained the suspects in Florida City, Florida following their investigation in which 20 foreign nationals — 10 male Ecuadorian nationals, three female Ecuadorian nationals, five female Chinese nationals, and two male Chinese nationals — landed via boat off County Road 905 in Key Largo, Florida on Sunday.
“The Sheriff’s Office was notified that the U.S. Attorney’s Office was not filing charges, so we consulted with the State Attorney’s Office and elected to proceed with state charges related to human smuggling,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “The Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office do not condone criminal behavior and will always work to hold people accountable.”
The Florida City Police Department also assisted in the case.
