TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Interstate 19 immigration checkpoint near Amado arrested a truck driver for human smuggling after finding 31 illegal aliens in his tractor-trailer Wednesday night.
After a Border Patrol canine alerted to the vehicle, agents referred a 2008 Freightliner for secondary inspection, where they discovered and arrested 31 Mexican nationals concealed in the cargo trailer, all illegally present in the country.
The 40-year-old U.S. citizen driver was arrested for human smuggling. The Mexican nationals, ages 15 to 40, will be processed for immigration violations.
In an effort to prevent fatalities at the hands of smugglers, Department of Homeland Security recently launched “Operation Safeguard” to educate the public and the trucking industry on the life-threatening dangers involved in using commercial conveyances to smuggle humans.
