Woman Gets Nine Months For Role In Smuggling Trial

A 45-year-old woman was sentenced to nine months in prison for attempting to persuade witnesses in her husband’s smuggling trial to change their testimony.

Manjit Kaur was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court seven months after her husband, Jit Singh Nagra, was arrested for masterminding an international alien-smuggling ring and of bribing undercover federal agents.

Kaur’s 69-year-old father-in-law, Hari Singh Nagra, was also sentenced to one year in federal prison for the same offense.

Neither of the defendants expressed emotion when their sentences were read by an interpreter, but several family members in court began to sob.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour agreed to a reduced sentence for Kaur so she could continue to care for her three young children. With credit for time served, Kaur is scheduled for release in five months.

The entire family, including grandparents, faces possible deportation to their native India.

Jit Singh Nagra and his brother, Mohan Singh Nagra, ran the illegal smuggling ring from 1985 to 1994 and brought at least 1,000 Indian and Pakistani citizens to the U.S. for fees of $10,000 to $14,000.

Nagra used the Federal Way restaurant he and Kaur owned as a meeting place to plan the smuggling operation, according to court documents.