http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... /705240569

10 illegal immigrants in van arrested on U.S. 31

By Vic Ryckaert
vic.ryckaert@indystar.com

Authorities in Tipton County say they found a vanload of illegal immigrants on U.S. 31 on Tuesday night.

Police arrested 10 of the people after they stopped a red Ford van about 9:15 p.m. in the 5700 block of U.S. 31 North, according to the Tipton County Sheriff's Department.
Police pulled the van over after receiving a 911 call from someone following the van who claimed the people onboard had kidnapped a relative. Officers stopped the vehicle, and the occupants scattered.
"When the driver was ordered out of the vehicle," Tipton County Deputy Matt Tebbe told WTHR (Channel 13), The Indianapolis Star's news-gathering partner, "all of a sudden the side door opened up and the rest of them bailed out the side doors and went off into several different directions."
Police said they believe three people eluded capture. The 10 taken into custody are Hispanic; three are juveniles. Some entered the country a month ago, police said.
Federal immigration officials took over the investigation, police said.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison said these kinds of immigrant-smuggling busts occur a few times a year in Indiana.
"The ones that come to our attention are when there are stops by police for unrelated events or traffic accidents," Morrison said.