Border Patrol agents thwart 3 smuggling attempts in 36 hours
By Angelica Martinez, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:34 p.m. June 18, 2009

SAN DIEGO — Border Patrol agents detained dozens of suspected illegal immigrants from three failed smuggling attempts during a 36-hour span this week, officials said.
The first occurred about 8 p.m. Tuesday when agents stopped a Ford Explorer near Campo. Agents said the vehicle appeared to have a large amount of weight inside, and they found 12 people stacked on top of each other in the back of the SUV.
Ten were Mexican nationals; one was from Honduras and another was from Guatemala.
The suspected smugglers, an 18-year-old female driver and a 19-year-old man who was her passenger, are both U.S. citizens. They were arrested and face smuggling charges, agents said.
About 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, agents stopped a group of 22 suspected illegal immigrants hiding in rocky terrain in Shelter Valley, about 13 miles east of Julian.
The group, which had been traveling on foot, was waiting to be picked up by a driver, agents said. Among those detained was the guide, who faces smuggling charges, officials said.
Early Thursday morning, agents arrested 10 people, all Mexican nationals who had been on a boat and dropped at Torrey Pines State Beach. Shortly afterward, agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Marine Unit intercepted the panga boat off the coast and arrested two suspected smugglers.


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