Smuggler of illegal aliens, meth sentenced

Mexican man gets five years in prison after taking panga boat to Santa Barbara County beach

By NEIL HARTSTEIN

One of the two Mexican men convicted of smuggling drugs and illegal aliens on a panga boat that came ashore at a Santa Barbara County beach in 2021 has been sentenced to five years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

A federal jury found the defendants guilty of drug and human trafficking charges after law enforcement caught them on the panga boat containing 45 pounds of methamphetamine and 11 illegal aliens from Mexico, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Dec. 21.

One defendant — Roel AranzubiaÁlvarez, 43, of Sinaloa, Mexico — was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer on April 10 to 60 months (five years) in federal prison, Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told the News-Press.

“He is appealing his conviction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,” Mr. McEvoy said.

The second defendant, Jorge MuñozMuñoz, 26, of Ensenada, Mexico, was also scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, but the hearing was continued to May 30 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Mr. McEvoy said.

“We’re asking Judge Fischer to sentence Muñoz-Muñoz to 292 months (24 years and four months) in federal prison,” he said.

Jurors found the two defendants guilty on Dec. 20 of one count of conspiracy to bring non-citizens into the United States, 11 counts of alien smuggling, 11 counts of alien smuggling for private financial gain, and one count of aiding and assisting an alien convicted of an aggravated felony to enter the United States.

Mr. Muñoz-Muñoz also was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of conspiracy to import methamphetamine, and one count of importation of methamphetamine. Mr. AranzubiaÁlvarez was found not guilty of the drugrelated charges.