OAKLAND, Calif. -- Like many illegal aliens, Rigoberto Aleman came to America hoping to find a better life. But those dreams ended on a dark, deserted Oakland street on a cold winter's night in 2007.

Oakland police say Aleman was killed in a dispute over money with a man they claim was involved in the seamy world of human trafficking.

"This (human trafficking in Oakland) is a common, everyday occurrence," said Oakland police Sgt. Gary Phillips. "It goes on seven days a week, 24 hours a day."

Aleman and another man were being transported illegally across country in a Ford Expedition and were suppose to meet up with a contact in Oakland. But the man never showed up and the driver -- 32-year old Humberto Chazari -- said he would bring them to Los Angeles instead.

However, it would cost the Honduran men $600. Instead of paying, they attempted to flee.

Police said Chazari gunned the SUV and ran over Aleman, leaving him with fatal injuries. Instead of a better life, he became a statistic -- Oakland's 122nd homicide of the year.

"The suspect vehicle drove down the middle of the street, drove toward the victim, and intentionally ran him over," Phillips said.

Ivy Lee, an API Legal Outreach attorney, said Aleman's death showed just how cheap human life is to traffickers.

"I think what it shows is how fungible, how kind of throwaway and expendable traffickers believe that people are," she said.

Lee told KTVU that human trafficking is a major -- yet hidden -- problem in the U.S. . "It's definitely a good way to keep people isolated because you're transporting them, right?" she said. "They're not taking a bus... They're not learning to use public transportation. They're not getting a ride with family or friends. So, no one knows where they are."

Police said that in the SUV at the time of the murder were the suspect's girlfriend and one of her friends along with another man being transported to Sacramento accompanied by his young son.

Seeing a man run over, authorities said, must have been a powerful message.

"So, are you going to flee?" Lee said. "Are you going to cooperate with law enforcement? No. Traffickers are smart."

Chazari was arrested in Los Angeles last month -- tracked down because he gave his business card to the man who fled with Aleman and on it was his cell phone number. He's now being held in Santa Rita jail on a murder charge. Police say he has confessed to the crime.