ICE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
02/02/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/02/2026 19:26
Texas man sentenced for role in border tunnel smuggling conspiracy
EL PASO, Texas - Following an ICE Homeland Security Investigations El Paso investigation, a local man was sentenced Jan. 28 to federal prison for his role in a cross-border tunnel smuggling conspiracy.
Oscar Ivan Carrillo, 20, of El Paso, received a 33-month sentence for smuggling illegal aliens through a tunnel connecting Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso.
The HSI El Paso and U.S. Border Patrol investigation began in 2024, after intelligence revealed a sophisticated tunnel built by the La Nueva Empresa, an international drug cartel. The tunnel, which connected Ciudad Juarez to El Paso, ran under the Rio Grande and was equipped with electricity and ventilation.
"This case highlights the relentless efforts of our special agents and U.S. Border Patrol partners to disrupt dangerous smuggling operations," said HSI El Paso acting Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho. "Criminals continue to innovate and exploit our border for profit, putting lives at risk and undermining our nation's security. Through coordinated efforts and strategic partnerships, we are committed to identifying, investigating and dismantling these dangerous smuggling networks."
Agents discovered that Carrillo and his co-conspirators used handheld tools to connect existing storm drains to the tunnel, guiding migrants through the passage and into the U.S. At the tunnel's exit, a modified box truck with a trap door was used to covertly transport migrants from the storm drain to the vehicle.
Carrillo was indicted on April 2, 2025, and arrested in June. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 4 to conspiracy to use a border tunnel. The investigation also led to the arrests of other key members of the organization and the recovery of tools and building materials used in the tunnel's construction.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas as part of Joint Task Force Alpha, a partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security targeting human smuggling and trafficking by cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
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