YUMA – On Monday morning, Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents intercepted a boat used by human smugglers on the Colorado River.
According to U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted what was described as a consensual encounter of a suspicious boat at the Martinez Lake Marina. That was when they discovered nine migrants inside. The migrants appeared to be using the Colorado River to bypass immigration checkpoints.
Divers with the Border, Search, Trauma and Rescue team conducted a search of the water and recovered potential evidence, according to CBP.
The two suspected smugglers, who are both from Mexico, face federal human smuggling charges. The remaining seven migrants are being processed for removal from the United States under Title 42.