YUMA – A 25-year-old US citizen and his 19-year-old US citizen passenger are in custody on smuggling charges after they were discovered to have two illegal aliens in the trunk of their vehicle. The duo was nabbed by Border Patrol agents working at the Highway 78 checkpoint.
One of the illegal aliens had an outstanding warrant for burglary.
On Thursday evening, according to Border Patrol, agents working at the Highway 78 checkpoint near Palo Verde, California, encountered a Toyota sedan. A Border Patrol canine alerted agents to the vehicle, and agents subsequently sent the vehicle to secondary inspection where agents discovered two illegal aliens hiding in the vehicle’s trunk. The aliens, aged 18 and 33, are both nationals of Mexico.
Agents discovered through a records check that the 33-year-old alien had an active warrant for burglary out of Fresno, California. Agents located a Ruger LCP380 handgun loaded with hollow-point ammunition tucked into the rear seat and seized $735 in cash.
The vehicle, firearm, ammunition and cash were seized. The two illegal aliens were expelled under Title 42 at the San Luis Port of Entry.