WORCESTER—A Worcester man has been arrested in connection with an international law enforcement operation targeting a criminal organization accused of smuggling hundreds of individuals from Brazil to the United States.
Flavio Alexandra Alves, also known as “Ronaldo,” was taken into custody on charges of conspiracy to bring and transport noncitizens within the United States in violation of federal law, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Alves, 41, is a Brazilian national who was previously convicted of human smuggling in 2004 and deported in 2005. Officials allege he reentered the United States illegally and has been residing in Worcester.
Prosecutors say Alves played a role in a human smuggling organization that operated in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. According to the charging documents, he allegedly worked with co-conspirators to arrange travel for individuals being smuggled into the country, transferred funds to support the operation, and collected smuggling fees. Between May 2021 and August 2022, authorities allege Alves purchased more than 100 airline tickets for Brazilian nationals traveling from the southern border to destinations in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Alves was detained following his initial court appearance in Worcester.
On Friday, a federal judge ordered Alves be transferred to a Connecticut jail where he can receive dialysis treatments, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Alves, who requires dialysis three times a week, was initially held at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, which lacked the necessary medical care.
During a hearing on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge David H. Hennessy proposed releasing Alves on a $250,000 cash bond with house arrest but cited concerns about him being a flight risk, according to the Telegram. Instead, prosecutors recommended transferring him to MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Connecticut, where he could remain in U.S. marshal custody while receiving treatment. Alves’ attorney, Steven C. Boozang, supported the decision, saying he preferred his client remain in the hands of the U.S. marshals rather than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
If convicted, Alves faces up to 10 years in prison, followed by deportation proceedings.
The case is part of broader efforts under Joint Task Force Alpha and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force, which target human smuggling networks. Additional arrests tied to the smuggling operation were made in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia.
Editor Charlene Arsenault can be reached at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org
