Thread: 9 Arrested in Wickenburg sweep

9 arrested in Wickenburg sweep
JJ Hensley
The Arizona Republic
May. 16, 2008 12:00 AM

Maricopa County sheriff's deputies arrested nine people suspected of being in the country illegally in the Wickenburg area Wednesday.

The sheriff's human-smuggling unit made the arrests during traffic stops in the area, as deputies have recently done through concerted efforts in other parts of the Valley.

Civil-rights groups and politicians have criticized the agency's recent operations in Phoenix and Guadalupe as racial profiling. advertisement




Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the Wickenburg area is a corridor for smugglers transporting their human cargo to the Valley from Mexico.

"We stop violators of the law," Arpaio said. "We know there's a lot of smuggling activity coming into that area."

The arrests came a few ays after Gov. Janet Napolitano pulled $1.6 million in state funding from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for a new Department of Public Safety task force to track down felons with open warrants.
Apraio has said the move was politically motivated .

http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clickt ... hp/8030342

Putum in Tent City Joe, keep them nice and warm