WILMINGTON, N.C. - Three former Smithfield employees were sentenced last week in federal court for fraud and misuse of documents after they were discovered to be illegal immigrants.  

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Abimale Sanaozvasquez, Benito Gutierrez-Lopez and Jose Ramierez-Martinez each received 18 months in jail. Each will also be deported after they serve their prison terms.

All three pled guilty on Nov. 14 to fraud and misuse of documents. Officials said the sentencing was another step in the ongoing investigation of illegal aliens in North Carolina.

Twenty-one Smithfield employees were apprehended Sunday at the packing plant in Tar Hell. The arrests followed a several-month investigation into the use of false identities and false identification documents by people working in the Smithfield packing plant. 

Officials said 18 of the 21 employees were undocumented aliens who had assumed the name and social security numbers of other individuals.