PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Over 170 people in Arizona are facing immigration-related criminal charges after a week-long operation earlier this month. Multiple federal agencies assisted with the operation, which ran from Feb. 28 through March 6. Of those charged, 124 people are accused of illegally re-entering the United States after previously being removed. Thirty-five other people are accused of illegally entering the country. Federal prosecutors also charged 18 people in 17 separate cases for allegedly smuggling people into and through Arizona.Three men are facing federal charges tied to a human smuggling operation based in Phoenix.Iven Jair Jonathan Monjaraz-Perez, Gabriel Garcia-Lopez and Alvaro Ojeda-Gomez were charged with conspiring to transport people illegally into the country. Federal investigators say they have been looking into the smuggling operation since 2025.On March 2, agents searched an apartment in Phoenix and found 19 undocumented migrants inside. commentsGarcia-Lopez and Ojeda-Gomez were arrested at the apartment, where they allegedly served as load drivers and caretakers. Both men are citizens of Mexico and were in the country illegally, according to investigators.Agents then searched a second apartment linked to the same operation. Investigators say they saw Monjaraz-Perez leaving that apartment and getting into a car connected to the smuggling ring. He is accused of being paid to transport undocumented people and shelter them at the apartment.See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.Copyright 2026 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.