http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/159299

Tucson Region
Crosser is shot, left in desert drug area
By Dale Quinn
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.07.2006

A Mexican man was shot Wednesday morning near the border by a group reportedly looking for drugs in an area the Santa Cruz County sheriff said is frequently used for smuggling.

Andres Encinas Bustamante, 38, of Nogales, Sonora, was shot twice in his upper left leg and had lost a lot of blood before a Border Patrol helicopter found him, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada. He was in stable condition at a Tucson hospital Wednesday afternoon.

The agents found Bustamante about 20 miles north of the border near Interstate 19, Estrada said. "The area is well known for a lot of drug-trafficking activity, at least movement, and human smuggling as well," he said.

A Spanish-speaking male who identified himself only by his first name called the Border Patrol about 3 a.m. and said he found Bustamante injured in a wash. He was taken to a hospital, Estrada said.

Investigators later questioned Bustamante. He told them he and a male companion illegally entered the United States and had been walking for two days when five individuals approached and asked where a drug load was. According to Estrada, Bustamante said he was shot after saying he didn't know where the drugs were.

His companion fled and the five individuals followed him, Estrada said. The individuals returned, again asking Bustamante for drugs before leaving him in the desert.

Bustamante was not facing charges Tuesday, but the Santa Cruz County Metro Drug Task Force — an interagency organization that focuses on drug-related crime — is investigating, Estrada said. Authorities are working to track down the person Bustamante traveled with and the five people he said asked for drugs.

Estrada said there have been five reported shootings in that area involving illegal border crossers this year. While the Santa Cruz County Metro Drug Task Force doesn't deal directly with immigration, it often investigates crimes that stem from it.

Jesús Rodriguez, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman, agreed that the corridor along I-19 sees a lot of crime related to illegal immigration, but Border Patrol agents have not specifically targeted that area for added enforcement, he said.

Many rural areas in Southern Arizona have become havens for smugglers, and the Border Patrol keeps an eye out for increasing incidents, he said.
"You kind of watch what's going on in an area, and if you see a spike in criminal activity you're not going flood the area, but you will heighten enforcement," Rodriguez said.

Farther north in Pima County, there are some drug trafficking corridors in rural parts of the county, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, though she could not point out any specific areas requiring additional enforcement.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department investigated two shootings involving illegal entrants early this year. In one of the shootings a 29-year-old illegal entrant was killed.