Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents foiled two separate human smuggling attempts over Easter weekend, leading to the arrest of two smugglers and the removal of five people entering the country illegally.
The first incident was Saturday, April 11, where agents patrolling rural roads east of Ajo conducted an immigration inspection vehicle stop on a late model Nissan sedan, according to a news release. During the inspection, agents determined the driver, a 25-year-old Phoenix woman, was smuggling three people in the vehicle.
The next day, Sunday, April 12, at the immigration checkpoint on state Route 85 near Gila Bend, a Border Patrol canine alerted on a Buick sedan driven by a 39-year-old Phoenix woman, the news release said. During a secondary inspection, agents found two people hidden in the trunk.
All five of the people in the country illegally were removed from the U.S. The two Phoenix women were arrested and face possible human smuggling charges, the news release said.
“Despite traditional risks of human beings being stuffed into a trunk, there’s now increased risk due to exposure to coronavirus,” said Tucson Sector Border Patrol Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Michele Morales. “These human smuggling tactics increase exposure risks for our agents, those they smuggle, and endanger the safety of the American people.”
Since March 14, the U.S. Border Patrol has been using a system to expeditiously remove certain border crossers through ports of entry, without having to transport to U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities, reducing possible exposures to illness.
