Judge Jails Coyote for 9,000-Mile Operation from Indian Ocean 24 May 2021 A judge sentenced a coyote to just two-and-a-half years of prison for trying to smuggle more than 150 illegal migrants almost 9,000 miles to Florida from Sri Lanka, an island just off the coast of India. Smuggler Sri Kajamukam Chelliah was arrested in 2019 with 154 would-be migrants in a boat off the island nation of Turks and Caicos, and he subsequently negotiated a plea bargain with the Department of Justice. The ambitious smuggling operation spotlights the worldwide pressure on U.S. borders from poor people seeking higher wages and better lives. For example, Sri Lanka is almost 9,000 miles from Florida and is adjacent to India, where roughly 200 million young people live in deep poverty and frustration.