Petty Officers Sentenced for Smuggling Migrants

Two Navy petty officers, one of them a military policeman, were sentenced Thursday to three-year prison terms for smuggling illegal migrants through an immigration processing center at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, authorities said.

Antonio Pina, the policeman, admitted in a plea agreement that earlier this year he led six illegal immigrants into the U.S. while on duty with the Navy’s shore patrol. Jose Hernandez-Valdez also admitted participating in the scheme, which would have netted them $3,000 per illegal immigrant, according to authorities.

Undercover federal agents saw the illegal immigrants walk into the processing center and out a back door to a car, according to the criminal complaint.