Fake Arizona Fire Dept. SUV Used in Human Smuggling Attempt at Border

by BOB PRICE 8 Aug 2022

Douglas Station Border Patrol agents found an abandoned SUV disguised as a fire department vehicle. Several migrants fled back across the border into Mexico before agents arrived.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents from the Douglas Station responded to a report of a vehicle incursion along the Arizona border with Mexico, according to a tweet by Chief Patrol Agent John R. Modlin. Agents arrived a found what appeared to be a Mormon Lake Fire District chief’s vehicle.



John R. Modlin
@USBPChiefTCA
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#ClonedVehicle seized by Douglas Station. Agents responded to a suspected vehicle incursion and encountered the abandoned SUV. Mormon Lake Fire Dist. decals were improperly labeled as "Mormon Like."
Several individuals fled from the vehicle to Mexico before agents arrived.







11:42 AM · Aug 8, 2022

Modlin said multiple migrants fled from the vehicle and went back into Mexico. Agents conducted a search and inspection of the vehicle and discovered a typo in one of the decals used to make it look like an emergency response vehicle.

Instead of “Mormon Lake,” the decal on the doors read “Mormon Like,” Modlin reported. Agents took possession of the fake fire department vehicle.

While not entirely commonplace, the tactic of using cloned emergency vehicles or commercial service trucks is employed from time to time.

As far back as December 2015, Breitbart Texas has been reporting on the tactic as human smugglers disguised a Chevy Tahoe as a Border Patrol SUV to bring in a load of migrants. agents found the vehicle on Interstate 35 north of Laredo, Texas.

Nearly one year later, human smugglers cloned a pickup truck to appear as an Imperial Valley Irrigation District vehicle. The driver admitted to using the fake county truck in an attempt to smuggle migrants away from the border, Breitbart Texas reported.

Smugglers also used a stolen EMS vehicle in August 2018 to attempt to sneak a load of migrants through the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 281 in Brooks County, Texas.

Fake Arizona Fire Dept. SUV Used in Human Smuggling Attempt at Border (breitbart.com)