Armed Smuggler, Two Migrants Found at California Immigration Checkpoint

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested an armed 25-year-old human smuggler after finding two migrants locked inside the trunk of a sedan at an interior checkpoint in Southern California.

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 78 Immigration Checkpoint located near Palo Verde, California, on Thursday observed a Toyota sedan approaching for inspection. During an initial interview with the 25-year-old U.S. citizen driver and his 19-year-old U.S. citizen passenger, a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to an odor it is trained to detect near the rear of the vehicle, according to information obtained from Yuma Sector Border Patrol officials.

The agents referred the driver to a secondary inspection station. During a search, the agents found two men locked inside the trunk. The agents identified the two men as illegal immigrants, ages 18 and 33, from Mexico. The search also yielded a Ruger LCP380 pistol loaded with hollow-point ammunition, officials reported. The handgun and $750 cash were found stuffed into the rear seat.

The agents, as per protocol, conducted a medical screening and a criminal background investigation on all of the vehicle’s occupants. The records search revealed the 33-year-old Mexican man has an active warrant out of Fresno, California. The agents report the man is wanted in Fresno for burglary.

Officials placed the driver and front-seat passenger, both U.S. citizens, under arrest for human smuggling charges and seized the vehicle, firearm, ammunition, and cash.

Both of the Mexican nationals were transported to the San Luis Port of Entry and deported to Mexico under Title 42 Coronavirus protection protocols put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.