MCSO: Deputies arrest 4 Chinese in human smuggling case
Reported by: Deborah Stocks
Email: dstocks@abc15.com
Last Update: 1:28 pm

PHOENIX -- Authorities say four undocumented immigrants from China were among a group arrested Tuesday night in the north Valley.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, the arrests were made during a traffic stop resulting from a human smuggling investigation. A total of five immigrants were arrested.

The Chinese suspects reportedly told deputies they began their trip in Beijing, China; they were also found to have Cuban currency.

"If people are being smuggled into the United States illegally from a communist country like China through Mexico, who knows where else they could be coming from," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said in a news release.

Officials say the driver of the stopped vehicle was from Mexico City and admitted to deputies that he was paid to illegally transport the four Chinese suspects to Flagstaff where they would continue on to New York City.

"These people appeared to be very well coached on what to tell deputies during questioning," Sgt. Madrid of the Sheriff's Human Smuggling Unit said in the news release.

According to MCSO, Sheriff's human smuggling deputies to date have arrested 3,365 illegal aliens from Latin America and Mexico, 1,611 of which have been charged through the Maricopa County Superior Court system on state felony human smuggling charges.



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