#USBP #YumaSector agents apprehended a group of 171 illegal aliens from Central America who dug underneath an outdated portion of infrastructure on Sunday after suspected smugglers in Mexico coordinated their entry. @CBP #NationalSecurity #SouthwestBorder pic.twitter.com/qfpSih9S4D
— CBP Arizona (@CBPArizona) March 18, 2019
TUCSON – Ajo Station Border Patrol agents at the State Route 85 immigration checkpoint north of Lukeville arrested an illegal alien and a couple of U.S. citizens for attempted human smuggling, after they cut through a border fence.
At about 1 p.m. Sunday, agents operating a video surveillance camera saw a group of men cutting the wire mesh fence that marks the international boundary near the Lukeville Port of entry.
As agents observed the cutting, two men illegally entered the United States from Mexico, through the breach. One of the men then entered a parked Dodge SUV near the fence.
Agents requested an Air and Marine Operations helicopter crew patrolling nearby and a ground patrol to follow the vehicle, which headed north on the highway toward the checkpoint.
Agents at the SR85 checkpoint discovered the rear passenger, a 40 year-old Mexican male, was using fraudulent immigration documents. He was illegally in the United States.
The female driver, 36, and male front seat passenger, 32, were arrested on federal human smuggling charges. They will remain in custody pending disposition of their cases.
The Mexican national will be processed for immigration violations.