Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested two armed human smugglers as they attempted to move migrants into the U.S. interior from southern Arizona. The arrests occurred in two separate attempts.
Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John R. Modlin tweeted photos showing an armed human smuggler being stopped by an Ajo Station agent. The agent recovered a handgun from the vehicle.
Ajo Station agents stopped the red sedan on SR-85 last week. During an immigration interview, the agent identified the driver as a U.S. citizen and the family unit with a two-year-old child as foreign nationals illegally present in the U.S.
The agents arrested the driver, a U.S. citizen, and seized the handgun.
Elsewhere in the Tucson Sector, Douglas Station Border Patrol agents stopped a blue sedan for an immigration inspection on SR-80. Chief Modlin and U.S. Border Patrol Deputy Chief Matthew Hudak stopped by and observed the agents as they found two Guatemalan migrants locked inside the trunk in the summer heat.
Wilcox Station agents responded to a call for assistance from Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers on SR-90. The agents conducted an immigration interview and found four Mexican migrants being smuggled.
Police arrested two U.S. citizens in connection to the smuggling incident During a search of the vehicle, a small handgun was found in the center console.