If at first you don’t succeed try again and that is exactly what one convicted human smuggler did last Thursday morning. Unfortunately for him, an alert Wellton Border Patrol agent intercepted his second try.
The 61-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from California, was arrested, and his vehicle was seized. A record check revealed that he had an extensive criminal record, which included convicted felonies out of California for arson, grand theft, burglary and for bringing in and harboring aliens, the last of which he is currently on probation for.
The driver will not only face charges for alien smuggling, but also for violating his probation.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a Wellton Border Patrol agent conducting routine patrol along Highway 95 noticed a suspicious vehicle in the area, which quickly pulled into a business upon seeing the agent. The agent stopped the driver and discovered he was in the act of smuggling three Mexican nationals, a 19 and 21-year-old female and a 19-year-old male. The females were sitting in the front passenger and rear passenger seat, respectively, and the male was hiding in the rear cargo area.
The three migrants were also arrested for illegally being present in the U.S.