77 Mexican nationals caught
By Bill Hess
Herald/Review
Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, Feb 10, 2009 - 04:15:19 am MST

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BISBEE — U.S. Border Patrol agents working west of Douglas arrested 77 Mexican nationals after camera operators identified them crossing the border on Saturday evening.

This is the second apprehension of a large group of illegal immigrants in the same area between Douglas and Naco, Ariz., in the past two weeks, Tucson Sector spokesman Mike Scioli told the Herald/Review on Monday. On Jan. 26, 53 illegal immigrants were taken into custody at one time.

Again, the effort was the result of a coordination between agents of the Douglas and Naco stations, along with Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine. The latter provided a helicopter during the operation, which began around 6 p.m.


The chopper’s search light was instrumental in keeping some of the individuals in view, according to the Border Patrol spokesman.

“The group explained to agents that the smuggler instructed them to cross the fence at the same time in an attempt to overwhelm Border Patrol resources,â€