22 suspected illegal immigrants detained after Phoenix traffic stop

by Brennan Smith - Mar. 28, 2012 04:15 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office officials took into custody 22 people, including two young children, suspected of being in the country illegally.

Sheriff's officials pulled over two vehicles in north Phoenix and found the people inside, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office.

The traffic stop also lead authorities to a drophouse in Mesa, where two suspected smugglers were also arrested on suspicion of harboring illegal immigrants.

Sheriff's deputies discovered that the two children, 5 and 6, were brother and sister. Authorities suspected they had been smuggled without their parents, had no knowledge of where they were going and knew none of the other people in the vehicles, the release said.

22 suspected illegal immigrants detained after Phoenix traffic stop