A Pakistani national has pleaded guilty to helping smuggle dozens of people from Pakistan and Afghanistan into the United States.
Sharafat Ali Khan, 32, who U.S. officials say also is a legal resident of Brazil, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Washington courtroom.
Prosecutors say Khan was part of a human smuggling ring that brought an unspecified number of people north by plane, bus and on foot through the Colombian jungle. Court records show the travelers paid between $5,000 and $12,000 each before their journeys.
"The average traveler took approximately nine months to get from Brazil all the way to the United States. During the voyage from Brazil through South and Central America, aliens were subjected to harsh conditions that caused a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death," court records stated.
Khan is set to be sentenced in July.
