Five Charged in Connection with Alien Smuggling Interdiction Off the Coast of Miami-Dade County

MIAMI - A grand jury in Miami returned an indictment Wednesday charging five illegal aliens for their roles in an attempted smuggling venture that sought to bring dozens of undocumented migrants into the U.S. aboard a small, overloaded vessel off the coast of Miami-Dade County.

According to court records, Verdant Roosevelt Scott, 38, of The Bahamas; Zamfir Nitu, 50, of Romania; Donald Coote, 37, of Jamaica; Sergio Alejandro Correa Ramirez, 30, of Colombia; and Gheorghe Ion Chiperi, 43, of Moldova, made their initial appearances in federal court on April 30 and May 1.

Law enforcement detected the suspect vessel on radar traveling west toward Miami-Dade County. Shortly after midnight on April 26, a law enforcement vessel interdicted the boat approximately five miles offshore.

When law enforcement approached, the vessel was operating without navigation lights. After law enforcement activated their lights and sirens, the vessel slowed and ultimately stopped. Roosevelt, who was operating the vessel, was taken into custody.

Agents identified 25 aliens onboard the small center-console vessel, including Roosevelt. All were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter WINSLOW GRIESSER for biometric screening and records checks.

Those checks revealed that Coote, Correa Ramirez, Nitu, and Chiperi had previously been deported from the U.S.

Roosevelt is charged with 24 counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to enter the U.S. and two counts of aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter based on his role as the vessel's operator. The remaining four defendants are charged with illegal reentry of a deported alien. If convicted, Roosevelt faces up to 10 years in prison. Zitu and Coote face up to 20 years in prison because of their prior aggravated felony convictions and Correa Ramirez, and Chiperi face up to two years in prison.

The remaining 20 aliens were not charged and were repatriated to The Bahamas.

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami made the announcement.

HSI Miami is investigating the case, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and the USCG.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner Stiehl is prosecuting the case.

An indictment/complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.sdfl.uscourts.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or at http://pacer.sdfl.uscourts.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link., under case number 26-cr-20178.

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