Florida man sentenced for transporting 149 noncitizens inside his tractor trailer

LAREDO, Texas – A Florida man was sentenced Friday to 72 months in prison for driving a tractor trailer full of noncitizens from Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) investigated the case with assistance from U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Laredo Sector.

Joseph Winslow, 54, from Fort Meade, Florida, also was ordered to serve three years supervised release after completing his sentence. Winslow pleaded guilty March 5.

According to court documents, on Dec. 30, Winslow arrived at the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate Highway 35, which is approximately 29 miles north of Laredo. Authorities conducted an X-ray of the trailer he was driving and discovered noncitizens inside. Winslow agreed to transport the individuals in return for $10,000.

Winslow remains in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fawcett, of the Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move.

HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.