PHOENIX — A Phoenix woman has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for conspiring with others to help smuggle people into Arizona.
Tonya Romero, 37, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy after she was stopped by a Pinal County Sheriff's Office deputy in January 2024. Romero admitted to law enforcement officials she was involved in a human smuggling operation that involved transporting undocumented migrants from southern Arizona to the Phoenix metro area.
Romero was involved in renting "stash houses" and providing vehicles to transport migrants further into the country, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona. The defendant financially benefited from participating in the conspiracy, the plea agreement shows.
Romero reportedly admitted to being involved in human smuggling since she was 16, prosecutors said.
The defendant will be placed on supervised release for three years following the prison sentence.
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