Man arrested on I-75 for human trafficking after allegedly smuggling 13 people into the U.S.

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Luis Santiago Martinez-Martinez, 45, was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with seven counts of human smuggling, providing false identification to a law enforcement officer, and driving without a valid license.

A Gainesville Police Department officer working with the 8th Judicial Task Force-Gainesville Domestic Highway Enforcement Team conducted a traffic stop on a GMC Yukon at about 2:00 p.m. yesterday at the 374 mile marker on I-75 for following too closely and for a possible window tint violation. Martinez-Martinez was the driver of the Yukon.

The officer reported that as he approached the Yukon, he could see multiple people hiding in the rear of the vehicle; the vehicle smelled of body odor, there were multiple containers of urine, and no personal items were observed.

Martinez-Martinez reportedly gave the officer a fake Mexican identification card with the name Carlos Romero Garcia and said he had no other identification or passport. He eventually provided his true name, and his identity was confirmed via his photograph in the Border Patrol database.

A Spanish-speaking officer arrived and interviewed the passengers, who reportedly said they paid a criminal organization to smuggle them into the United States from Mexico. They said they signed contracts in Mexico to work in the U.S. to pay off the debt owed from being transported into the country.

Post Miranda, Martinez-Martinez reportedly said that he is part of a human smuggling organization and is paid $200 per person for driving. He reportedly acknowledged that he knew what he was doing is illegal and said the organization wanted him to pay for the Yukon and put it in his own name, but he had not done that yet. He reportedly said this was his first trip and that he had started with 13 people but had dropped off six people in Atlanta; he said he was given gas money for the trip and was supposed to take the money paid by his passengers back to the organization. He reportedly had several bundles of U.S. and Mexican cash.

Martinez-Martinez has no U.S. criminal history. Judge Denise Ferrero set bail at $355,500.

A Gainesville Police Department spokesman said that Border Patrol and Homeland Security arrived and took custody of the seven occupants.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.