Overview
- Tafakori, 57, is charged in the Western District of Texas with one conspiracy count and five counts of bringing migrants for profit, carrying up to 10 years per count with extra minimum prison time if multiple profit counts lead to conviction.
- Colombian police arrested him in Pereira at the request of the United States, and he now faces extradition to stand trial in Texas.
- Prosecutors say he moved mostly Iranian nationals through South and Central America and Mexico by arranging shelter, ground transport, and some flights, charging as much as $30,000 per person.
- Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio led the probe with support from HSI Bogotá, CBP’s National Targeting Center, U.S. Border Patrol’s Del Rio intelligence unit, Colombia’s DIJIN, and the Colombian Attorney General’s Office.
- Justice Department officials link the case to Joint Task Force Alpha and the Homeland Security Task Force campaign against high-impact smuggling, and they stress that the indictment contains allegations that must be proven in court.