One of two brothers accused of running a deadly scheme to smuggle undocumented immigrants inside tractor-trailers has been handed over to U.S. authorities, the El Paso, TX, Times reported. Fourteen truckers and others also are charged in the case as co-conspirators.

Ramon Martin Valdes, an American citizen living in Mexico, was handed over Nov. 28 to the U.S. Border Patrol and the Immigration and Naturalization Service by Mexican authorities. His brother and alleged co-conspirator, Ruben Patrick Valdes, was taken into U.S. custody last month.

The brothers allegedly recruited American truckdrivers from bars and clubs in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to transport undocumented immigrants from El Paso to Dallas, Fort Worth, TX, Santa Fe, NM, Phoenix and other U.S. cities.

The truckers were paid $150 per immigrant, according to the newspaper. Each immigrant paid $1,500 for the trip.

Authorities allege the brothers organized at least 11 truckloads of immigrants between 1999 and 2002, totaling between 900 to 1,000 people, the Times reported.

In July, two people died as a result of heat-related injuries while being transported in a tractor-trailer linked to the Valdes brothers. Twenty-eight immigrants were in the truck's trailer.

Both brothers are charged with one count of conspiracy to smuggle aliens. Each faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.