Tractor trailer driver tries to smuggle 26 illegals across the border
SALTON CITY – On the evening of February 12, a man was arrested at the checkpoint at Highway 86, attempting to smuggle 26 illegal immigrants into the U.S.
The tractor trailer got to the checkpoint, and a K-9 with Border Patrol gave an alert as to the contents of the truck.
Inside the bed of the trailer in the cargo area were the 26 individuals, locked inside.
The driver’s license that the 32-year-old driver gave to officers turned out to be a fake one. The driver was a Mexican national illegally present in the United States.
All 27 individuals were placed under arrest. Included in the group were a male and female juvenile.
“The undocumented immigrants were locked and trapped inside this tracker-trailer in below 45 degree weather with no safety restraints,” said Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez. “This smuggling organization had no regard for the safety of the people they were smuggling. Fortunately, our agents were able to remove them from that potentially life threatening situation.”
