{"id":209523,"date":"2026-03-07T22:33:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T22:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/209523\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T22:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T22:33:20","slug":"la-based-human-smuggling-kingpin-turko-pleads-guilty-to-trafficking-20000-people-into-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/209523\/","title":{"rendered":"LA-based human smuggling kingpin ‘Turko’ pleads guilty to trafficking 20,000 people into US"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LOS ANGELES – The leader of a prolific Los Angeles-<\/a>based human smuggling network<\/a> pleaded guilty in federal court Friday, admitting to a decade-long operation that transported approximately 20,000 individuals into the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s activities were linked to a tragic Oklahoma <\/a>car crash that claimed the lives of seven immigrants<\/a>, including three children.<\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, 52, known by the alias “Turko,” entered his plea for conspiracy to bring aliens into the U.S. for financial gain and hostage-taking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Living in the Westlake <\/a>district, Renoj-Matul managed a transnational criminal organization that charged between $15,000 and $18,000 per person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prosecutors detailed a brutal operation where immigrants were held in “stash houses” in Los Angeles and Phoenix<\/a> until fees were paid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SUGGESTED: 12 alleged 18th Street gang members arrested in LA on murder, drug charges<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2024, Renoj-Matul reportedly threatened to kill two hostages if their families did not settle their debts.<\/p>\n

Timeline:<\/p>\n

November 2023: A vehicle operated by the smuggling group crashes in Elk City, Oklahoma, killing seven people, including a 4-year-old child.<\/p>\n

February 2025: Renoj-Matul and his “right-hand man,” Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, are arrested in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

March 6, 2026: Renoj-Matul pleads guilty in Los Angeles federal court.<\/p>\n

April 21, 2026: Scheduled trial for co-defendants Cristobal Mejia-Chaj and driver Jos\u00e9 Paxtor-Oxlaj.<\/p>\n

October 2, 2026: Sentencing date for Renoj-Matul.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the organization functioned for at least 12 years, using accomplices in Guatemala to solicit victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prosecutors described the 2023 Oklahoma accident as a direct result of the group’s transport methods, noting that of the seven killed, “three were minors, including a 4-year-old child.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

SUGGESTED: Feds: 4 accused of smuggling 20K undocumented immigrants from Guatemala into the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Renoj-Matul remains in custody awaiting his October 2 sentencing, where he faces a maximum of life in federal prison.<\/p>\n

The Department of Justice continues to search for Helmer Obispo-Hern\u00e1ndez, a “lieutenant” in the organization who is currently a fugitive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Co-defendants Jos\u00e9 Paxtor-Oxlaj and Cristobal Mejia-Chaj are set to stand trial in downtown Los Angeles<\/a> next month.<\/p>\n

The Source: This report is based on official court filings and statements from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Central District of California following Friday’s plea hearing.<\/p>\n

Crime and Public Safety<\/a>Los Angeles<\/a>Arizona<\/a>California<\/a>U.S.<\/a>Immigration<\/a>World<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES – The leader of a prolific Los Angeles-based human smuggling network pleaded guilty in federal court…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[41302,1184,2042,14,48,52,51,47,137,50,49,100,1181,8074],"class_list":["post-209523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-az","tag-ca","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-immigration","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-news","tag-us","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}