http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/a ... _25102.php

Agents arrest 36 illegal aliens on freight train
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Jun 27, 2006



A caller's tip to the U.S. Border Patrol led to the arrests of 36 illegal immigrants Tuesday morning who were hiding in two parked freight train cars near Wellton.

Two among the group were identified as alleged alien smugglers, who will be prosecuted on federal smuggling charges, the patrol said in a news release.

Border Patrol agents assigned to the patrol's Wellton Station received a call around 5 a.m. from an area resident who reported seeing suspicious-looking people aboard a freight train that was stationary on railroad siding near Wellton, the patrol said.

Rick Hays, spokesman for the patrol's Yuma sector, said the train may have pulled onto the siding to allow another train to pass.

The aliens found in two box cars were without food and water, but none were injured, the patrol said.

According to the news release, the aliens told the agents they had boarded the train in Yuma at about 3 a.m.

Since Oct. 1, the start of the current federal fiscal year, Yuma sector agents have apprehended 106,816 illegal aliens.

Anyone who sees suspicious activity of interest to the Border Patrol is asked to call the toll-free number 1-866-999-USBP (8727).