MAY 1, 2013

Four arrested for Human Smuggling

Leader was U.S. Citizen

On April 23 at approximately 9:30 p.m., agents from the U.S. Border Patrol conducted a traffic stop on a green 2003 Ford Explorer in Southern Maricopa County for speeding. The vehicle was traveling north into the valley. Border Patrol contacted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and turned over the investigation to the Sheriff’s Human Smuggling Unit.

During the on-scene investigation, Sheriff’s detectives learned the three men paid between $800 and $3,000 to be illegally smuggled into the U.S. The destination for the group was going to be Phoenix. All of the men crossed the U.S. border near Sonora. All of the subjects except the driver claimed to be Mexican Nationals.

The driver is a U.S. citizen who admitted to transporting illegal aliens for profit on two (2) separate occasions.

All four were arrested and booked into the 4th Avenue Jail on Human Smuggling related charges.