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Jordanian admits human smugglingMore than 200 Iraqis and Jordanians illegally entered U.S.From CNN's Terry Frieden YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Jordanian citizen has pleaded guilty to helping operate a multimillion dollar human smuggling ring that brought hundreds of illegal immigrants from Iraq and other Middle East countries into the United States, authorities announced Tuesday. Thaer Omran Ismail Asaifi, 35, admitted in U.S. District Court to participating in a conspiracy in which about 200 Iraqis and Jordanians paid as much as $20,000 each to enter the United States. Authorities said they were given false documents and traveled from Amman through Peru and Ecuador to Washington's Dulles International Airport. Officials said they found no link to terrorism. The smuggling operation began months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and continued through 2004, authorities said. After the attacks the smugglers more than doubled their price. Under the plea agreement, Asaifi faces a sentence of six to eight years in prison, and then will be deported. Asaifi was arrested in September 2004 along with other alleged conspirators, including his Iraqi-born wife, Neeran Zaia, of Sterling Heights, Michigan. Prosecutors describe her as the ringleader of the scheme. Zaia, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is in federal custody awaiting trial in Washington. The smuggling ring was broken up when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents infiltrated the organization. 
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