Los Angeles trial begins for seven charged with smuggling Ukrainians

by Roman Kupchinsky
RFE/RL Crime and Corruption Report

The trial of seven Ukrainian nationals charged with smuggling hundreds of Ukrainians to Los Angeles via Mexico City and Baja Calif., began in Los Angeles on May 8. Some of these illegal aliens were young women who were then sold into prostitution.

"The immigrants paid an initial $2,500 to get to Mexico City, where they were shuttled to hotels," and then they were told to pay more to enter the United States, the Associated Press reported on May 8. U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California John S. Gordon said a federal grand jury handed down a 22-count indictment on May 17, 2001. In it, 18 defendants are charged with involvement in an international smuggling ring that imported illegal aliens from Ukraine into the United States and sold several female aliens into prostitution, the agency said.

The indictment names Sergey Mezheritsky, 35, of Hollywood as the ringleader of the group's Los Angeles and Mexico operations. Tatiana Komisaruk, 49, of North Hills was the alleged manager of the smuggling operation.

Six of the defendants are fugitives being sought by federal authorities. They include Valentyna Ivanivna Drozd, the owner of Svit tours in Ukraine, whose company allegedly helped coordinate the transport of aliens to Mexico.

Alleged recruiters for the operation in Ukraine include Yevgeniy Frolov, Elena Kravchenko, and Larisa Palomar.

Ten of the defendants are being charged on a separate count of conspiracy to import and harbor aliens for the purpose of prostitution.

According to the AP report, the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the U.S. Border Patrol was triggered by a video camera that Border Patrol agents found on a dirt trail near the U.S.-Mexico border in 1999. The tape showed what appeared to be the journey of a family "through Hungary, Mexico City, and up to Tijuana." The defendants face up to 10 years in prison for each smuggled alien.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 2, 2002, No. 22, Vol. LXX

| Home Page |