The son of a famous Mexican mariachi musician who pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle four undocumented Chinese nationals across the U.S.-Mexico border was sentenced in court Tuesday.
Jose Emiliano Aguilar, the 24-year-old son of Grammy Award-winner Pepe Aguilar was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers on March 14 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
He had been attempting to smuggle four undocumented immigrants, crammed into the back of his car across the border, according to the CBP.
CBP said agents were alerted to the vehicle by a K-9 unit. During a secondary inspection, agents discovered three women and one man crammed inside the trunk.
All four were citizens of China without lawful documents to enter the U.S.
Aguilar allegedly arranged to smuggle the immigrants into the U.S. under a deal in which they would each pay him between $3,000 and $60,000 if they successfully entered the country, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
He pleaded guilty to human smuggling on June 6 and was sentenced to three years of probation on Tuesday.
