Thread: Arizona cops bust illegal immigrant smuggling ring

PHOENIX | Wed Nov 10, 2010 7:34pm EST

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona police on Wednesday arrested 13 people accused of operating a smuggling ring that brought thousands of illegal immigrants from Central and South America using large cargo vans.

Officers from a joint federal, state and local task force seized 60 vehicles and arrested suspects at four locations in the Phoenix valley, the Arizona Public Safety Department said.

The smugglers used large cargo vans and other vehicles to run illegal immigrants from the Mexico border to the Phoenix valley, from where they were moved across the United States.

"Today we have put a huge dent in the human smuggling arena ... in Arizona," said DPS Capt. Fred Zumbo, the commander of the task force that also included Phoenix Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

Arizona straddles a furiously trafficked corridor for smugglers hauling illegal immigrants and drugs from Mexico.

In 2009, U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Tucson area made 241,000 arrests, almost half the total caught slipping over the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border.

Matthew Allen, the special agent in charge of ICE in Arizona, said those arrested on Tuesday were charged with state crimes related to conducting a criminal enterprise.

The investigation began more than a year ago when police in the west valley city of Goodyear spotted 30-50 vehicles, all in one location. The vehicles were moving in and out at odd hours.

Their suspicions were further raised as the vehicles were registered to unidentifiable owners at fictitious addresses.

DPS said the operation is ongoing and good lead to further arrests.

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor, editing by Greg McCune)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AA06420101111

I like to know how the hell do the illegal immigrant get the money to come over to the usa . & sneak over . good get them all