DPS: Suspected Coyote, Illegal Immigrants Arrested In Traffic Stop

POSTED: 2:54 pm PDT April 24, 2007
UPDATED: 4:27 pm PDT April 24, 2007

PHOENIX -- A Department of Public Safety officer making a simple traffic stop Tuesday morning discovered a suspected human smuggler and 14 illegal immigrants in the van, authorities said.

The officer stopped the van on Interstate 10 near Buckeye Road for speeding, DPS officials said.

As the officer approached the vehicle, he observed 14 people in the rear of the vehicle, according to DPS officials.

Smith removed the driver, Antonio Mendez, 29, from the vehicle and learned that Mendez had picked up the illegal immigrants in Southern Arizona with orders to drive them to California, DPS officials said.

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived on scene, they took custody of the group.



Antonio Mendez was booked for 14 counts of human smuggling. One of the immigrants was a 17-year-old teenager traveling with his older brother.

This is the fifth coyote the officer has arrested in the last two months on the interstate, DPS officials said.

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