TUCSON, AZ (CBS5) -
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents were successful in stopping four different attempts of smuggling into southern Arizona this past weekend.
Agents working at the Highway 191 checkpoint Thursday afternoon were alerted by a working canine during a pre-primary inspection to a Chevrolet pickup truck. Agents sent the truck and its occupants to a secondary inspection where two grams of marijuana, 39 grams of methampheamine, three oxycodone pills, seven grams of mushrooms and two handguns were discovered. Agents arrested the occupants for narcotics smuggling.
Agents working at the Wilcox Station made a traffic stop on a 1997 Nissan Altima Saturday evening on Highway 186 where the driver ran into the desert once stopped. Agents found three illegal aliens in the car while performing an inspection, two of the illegal aliens were locked in the trunk. The agents called for backup to help locate the driver who ran off, but they were unable to locate him. Agents then arrested all three illegal aliens for being in the country illegally.
Other agents conducting car inspections at the I-19 checkpoint Saturday night found two illegal aliens from Mexico hiding in the trunk of a Buick sedan. Agents arrested the driver and a passenger plus the two illegal aliens. The driver and passenger will be presented to the U.S. Attorney for smuggling, while the two Mexican nationals were arrested for being in the country illegally.
The fourth incident happened Sunday evening when agents from the Tucson Station were working at the State Route 86 checkpoint found five illegal aliens hiding in the trunk of a 2007 Nissan Altima. The U.S. citizen driver was arrested for human smuggling and now faces federal prosecution. The five illegal aliens were charged with being in the country illegally.
Border patrol agents seized all the vehicles involved with these crimes.
Border patrol asks for you to report any suspicious activity by calling (877) 872-7435. All calls will be answered and the callers will remain anonymous.
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