Smuggler chased from near border to Irvine

By BRITTANY LEVINE
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
May 22, 2010

A high-speed border chase ended in Irvine early Saturday morning after authorities captured a suspected smuggler transporting six undocumented passengers in an SUV, a border patrol agent said.

The seven men, who were Mexican nationals in the country illegally, are currently in U.S. Customs and Border Patrol custody.

The driver, who pulled over to the shoulder near the I-5's Culver Drive exit after about a one-hour chase, is being held pending alien smuggling charges, said Michael Jimenez, a border patrol agent.

At least one of the smuggled men had been previously deported, he said.

The chase began at 1:25 a.m. after an agent saw a man loading the passengers in a white Ford Expedition in Otay Mesa, a small community in San Diego.

Agents tried to stop the 38-year-old driver by sounding sirens.

"But the vehicle sped away at a high rate of speed," Jimenez said.

"It traveled northbound on the 805 and reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour."

A Border Patrol helicopter assisted in the chase, which covered three freeways, until it neared the San Diego Airport.

Then a San Diego Police Department helicopter took over. Agents from the San Clemente border patrol station also joined the chase, which ended around 2:25 a.m.

Passengers in the car were seen throwing pieces of debris out the windows, Jimenez said.

He was unsure why they were doing this, but said it was possible the runaways were trying to distract the agents.

It is unclear why the driver had stopped; Jimenez said he did not know if he ran out of gas.

Due to the time of day, there was light traffic and no one was injured during the pursuit, he said.

How the agent first identified the men as suspected aliens, Jimenez wouldn't say.

Revealing tactics may tip off future smugglers, so officials try not to reveal them, he said.

If officials determine that the men do not have extensive criminal histories then they will be processed and returned to Mexico, Jimenez said.

Contact the writer: blevine@ocregister.com or 949-492-5135

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