A Rio Rico mother has been separated from her children after she was caught taking them on a human smuggling mission.
An armed Rico Rico, Arizona mother with her kids along for the ride was arrested on Sunday for attempting to smuggle an illegal alien from Mexico.
The mother, a 39-year-old U.S. citizen was driving a Ford Expedition when she was referred for a secondary immigration inspection of her two adult passengers by Nogales Border Patrol agents working at the Immigration Checkpoint on Interstate 19.
During questioning, agents identified a 29-year-old female passenger as being from Mexico with a border crossing card. The male passenger, however, was identified as 23-year-old Mexican national in the U.S. illegally.
Also in the vehicle were the Rio Rico woman’s three children, ages 10, 11 and 13, as well as her 5-year-old nephew. In addition, the driver had a loaded .38 caliber pistol strapped to her hip. Agents arrested both women for human smuggling, while the man is being processed for immigration violations
Agents turned three of the four children over to Child Protection Services. The 5-year-old was turned over to his mother.