Decomposing Bodies Of Three Chinese Migrants Found In Abandoned Car Trunk; Smuggler, Trafficker Charged

A second person allegedly involved in the smuggling and trafficking of three Chinese migrants whose decomposing bodies were found in an abandoned car trunk in 2019 has been arrested and charged on Thursday, Aug. 26.

Saad Ali Awan, a U.S. citizen living in El Centro, who also goes by the name “Ryan,” has been apprehended on Thursday, Aug. 26, at his El Centro home. He has been charged with two counts related to smuggling undocumented immigrants across the border, including a conspiracy charge that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

On Aug. 11, 2019, the bodies of 38-year-old Xueying Lin, 15-year-old Bangjie Li, and 39-year-old Ying Lin were discovered inside the trunk of a car in San Diego’s Bay Terraces neighborhood. Police found the bodies after someone reported a foul odor and blood dripping from a 1999 BMW car with Texas license plates parked near the 2100 block of Jamie Avenue near Dorian Street.

Traffic footage obtained by investigators reportedly showed the same BMW car crossing into the United States from Mexico on Aug. 9, 2019, at the San Ysidro port of entry at 3:14 p.m.

Neil Edwin Valera, 52, the registered owner of the vehicle, was arrested shortly after for driving the BMW across the border. Valera admitted to authorities that he became part of the crime after responding to a Craigslist advertisement offering small amounts of money to drive people from Tecate, in East County, to Los Angeles.

The investigators later traced the Craigslist advertisement back to Awan. Valera reportedly agreed to smuggle an unknown number of Chinese women into the U.S. in the trunk of his BMW for US$6,000. His phone call records indicated that he had hundreds of contacts all traced back to Awan and another conspirator, according to the United States Department of Justice.

“Human smugglers do not act alone, and we will continue to prosecute offenders who participate at all levels of the criminal organizations responsible for these dangerous crimes,” Randy Grossman, Acting U.S. Attorney, said in a statement.

Awan was on federal probation while allegedly coordinating the smuggling operations. He was previously arrested in June 2018 while trying to bring in three undocumented immigrants through the San Ysidro Port of Entry inside his trunk.

Awan was reportedly found to be associated with at least 14 smuggling incidents that occurred in the Southern District of California from July 4, 2019, to July 11, 2020.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 31 for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Montenegro in El Centro.