KEY LARGO, Fla. — Newly released body camera video shows the arrest of a driver in the Florida Keys who investigators later identified as part of a violent human smuggling scheme.
Authorities said the group kidnapped Cuban nationals, transported them to Key Largo, held them captive and threatened violence to force their families to pay money.
The man seen in the video is Victor Rafael Arcia Albeja of Miami, the last of six people convicted in the scheme.
The footage shows a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy stopping Arcia Albeja in February 2024 after he allegedly ran a stop sign in the Florida Keys.
“Hi, I’m a deputy with the sheriff’s office, why would you run that stop sign right in front of me?” the deputy asks in the video.
Deputies discovered Arcia Albeja did not have a driver’s license and that the vehicle was unregistered.
As the deputy attempted to take him into custody, Arcia Albeja and a passenger tried calling 911.
“No, no, no. Put the phone down,” the deputy says before handcuffing him.
Moments later, the deputy expresses disbelief at the situation.
“He’s telling me he’s gonna call 911 on me. Uh, I am 911,” the deputy says.
Arcia Albeja was eventually placed in the back of a patrol car. During a search of the vehicle, deputies found a Cuban passport.
In May, law enforcement stopped another suspect on the Florida Turnpike, a development that investigators said helped break the case open.
According to investigators, Arcia Albeja helped transport the victims from Cuba to South Florida. Prosecutors said the group then demanded $15,000 per victim at a safe house.
Investigators said videos were sent to victims’ families and friends showing the captives being abused and beaten with machetes.
On the night of the traffic stop in the Keys, the deputy appeared to sense something was wrong.
“Dude, something’s weird with this,” the deputy says in the video.
Arcia Albeja is scheduled to be sentenced later this month and faces up to life in prison.
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