GOLDEN — Two men accused of transporting 15 undocumented foreign nationals into the United States through Colorado have pleaded guilty to human smuggling.
Exal Sanchez-Figueroa, 25, and Luis Contreras-Ferreira, 25, entered the pleas this week in Jefferson County District Court.
Both men have been deported three times before. They are in custody at the Jefferson County jail and will be sentenced April 14. They could face four to 12 years in prison.
They were arrested Nov. 19 by the Colorado State Patrol after a traffic stop on Interstate 70 near West 32nd Avenue and Youngfield Street in Wheat Ridge.
Troopers stopped a minivan driven by Contreras-Ferreira for weaving and discovered the undocumented passengers, including one woman and a juvenile.
The occupants were taken to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Denver detention and removal office for interviews. The group was traveling through Colorado to Kansas.
