U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Interstate 19 immigration checkpoint near Amado, AZ arrested a truck driver for human smuggling after finding 31 illegal immigrants in his tractor-trailer on September 11, 2019.
After a Border Patrol canine alerted to the vehicle, agents referred the 2008 Freightliner for secondary inspection, where they discovered and arrested 31 Mexican nationals concealed in the cargo trailer, all in the USA illegally.
The 40-year-old U.S. citizen driver was arrested for human smuggling. The Mexican nationals, ages 15 to 40, will be processed for immigration violations.
In an effort to prevent fatalities at the hands of smugglers, Department of Homeland Security recently launched “Operation Safeguard” to educate the trucking industry on the life-threatening dangers involved in using commercial conveyances to smuggle humans.
