A cartel-connected human smuggler drove a large pickup truck loaded with 15 migrants into California from Mexico after cutting through a section of an old-technology border wall. Authorities arrested the human smuggler and the migrants following a short pursuit.
The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon in Campo, California, when agents with U.S. Border Patrol reported an incursion, an agency news release revealed. The report revealed that a Dodge 4500 drove into California after smugglers cut through the old technology landing mat border wall.
Approximately 15 minutes later, agents spotted the human smuggler trying to cut the locks to a local resident’s gate with some bolt cutters and attempted to arrest him. The smuggler used the truck to flee starting a short chase that ended when the smuggler stopped the vehicle. The 15 migrants jumped out and attempted to run away. Authorities tracked down the 15 migrants and the human smuggler.
Officials identified the group, including the driver, as nine Mexican males, five Mexican females, and two Guatemalans. In their statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified the human smuggling group as a transnational criminal organization, a word commonly used by federal agencies to describe Mexican drug cartels. The driver, a Mexican national, entered the U.S. illegally. Officials said the pickup truck had been reported stolen.
“A vehicle drive-thru, with overloaded and unsecured passengers, particularly in this terrain, can certainly result in a rollover accident with serious injuries and death,” said San Diego Sector Interim Chief Douglas Harrison. “The breach of this old landing mat wall is illustrative of the need for more hardened infrastructure with greater impedance and denial capabilities to keep the area secure.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.