Armed Human Smuggler Busted with Meth, Fentanyl near Border in Arizona

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested an armed human smuggler attempting to move five Mexican nationals into the U.S. interior. During a search of the vehicle, agents found a small quantity of methamphetamine and fentanyl pills.

Agents assigned to the Tucson Station responded to an observation of border camera operators who reported a group of migrants crossing the border near Sasabe, Arizona, and loading into a smuggler’s vehicle. The agents found the vehicle and arrested the alleged human smuggler, according to a tweet from Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John R. Modlin.

During a search of the vehicle, the agents found a loaded handgun and a small quantity of meth and fentanyl pills, the chief reported. The agents placed the two U.S. citizens under arrest for smuggling and the illegal firearm and drugs. They transported the migrants for processing.

Elsewhere in the Tucson Sector, Chief Modlin reported the arrest of another U.S. citizen human smuggler after the driver of a sedan led agents on a pursuit from the SR-82 immigration checkpoint. The driver refused to stop at a secondary inspection station.

Sonita Station Agents pursued the silver sedan until the driver lost control and spun out into a rancher’s fence. The agents arrested the driver and four Mexican citizens illegally present in the U.S.