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Florida Man Sentenced In Human Smuggling Scheme

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ATLANTA (CBSMiami/AP) — A Florida man has been sentenced for his role in a human smuggling scheme, according to federal prosecutors.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said Wednesday that 41-year-old Enkeleon Manati of Jacksonville, Florida was sentenced to three years for his role in the Greece-based operation.

Prosecutors said Manati and his accomplice, Matrona Kougla, began smuggling Albanians into the United States by using Greek passports that were obtained using fraudulent information.

Kougla, who has already been sentenced, told investigators that Manati referred Albanian citizens to her who wanted to travel to the U.S. but couldn't legally obtain visas.

Prosecutors said some of the Albanians traveled to Florida and Atlanta and customs agents in Atlanta detained them after seeing their passports and determining they didn't speak Greek.

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