Thread: ICE: AZ: Human smuggling investigation underway

ICE: Large scale human smuggling investigation underway
Reported by: ABC15.com staff, wire reports
Last Update: 8:33 am

PHOENIX -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says a large scale human smuggling investigation is underway across the state today.

ICE Officer Vincent Picard said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix will hold a news conference today at 1 p.m. for an announcement related to the investigation.

The agency says it won't provide any specifics on the investigation until then.

Phoenix is the busiest hub for transporting illegal immigrants into the United States.

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoen ... FOxDg.cspx

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Human smuggling investigation leads to raids by ICE

by Catherine Holland

Posted on April 15, 2010 at 9:02 AM
Updated today at 9:43 AM


PHOENIX -- Immigration and Customs agents here in the Valley are taking part in a nationwide and international raid as part of a huge human smuggling investigation.

Details about the operation were not immediately available, but as part of the bigger puzzle, police served a search warrant at a business called Sergio's Shuttle, also known as Hermosillo Shuttles, in the area of 29th Avenue and Van Buren Street.

Several other search warrants were served in locations in the area.

Raids reportedly were also taking place in Tucson and in Mexico as part of this large-scale investigation.

Officials are planning a news conference later this afternoon to talk about the investigation.

Details will be updated as they become available.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Huma ... 45354.html

WITH Video and Photos

Phoenix shuttle service raided by federal agents

Associated Press - April 15, 2010 12:44 PM ET

PHOENIX (AP) - Dozens of immigration agents raided a Phoenix shuttle bus operation Thursday morning that advertised van shuttle service from several cities in northern Mexico to cities in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

A second shuttle service a block away was also apparently raided by agents from Immigration Customs Enforcement.

ICE agents and Phoenix police were stationed outside the businesses.

An ICE spokeswoman would only tell The Associated Press the raids were part of an "ongoing investigation into allegations of human smuggling."

A phone call to Sergio's Shuttle was not answered Thursday morning.

http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12317701

ICE agents target human smugglers by Jim Cross/KTAR (April 15th, 2010 @ 9:25am) Policy >> Comments:20

PHOENIX -- Agents with the Immigration Customs and Enforcement service, with the help of Mexican authorities, launched a huge operation Thursday to shut down human smuggling networks in southern Arizona.

The operation, the largest ever for ICE in Arizona, involved almost 1,000 agents from the United States and Mexico and focused on shuttle bus services in Phoenix and Tucson, as well as smuggling networks in Nogales. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the investigation targeted the infrastructure of a major Arizona-based smuggling ring.

ICE officials said shuttle services that were raided Thursday existed solely to ferry illegal immigrants from Tucson to Phoenix, where they were dumped in public parking lots or taken to drop houses to be shipped across the nation.

The illegal immigrants were helped by organizations in Nogales to get around border checkpoints on foot or to get false documents, then helped to reach Tucson where they boarded shuttles.

In Phoenix, agents served search warrants Thursday morning at Sergio's Shuttle, 28th Avenue and Van Buren.

Other businesses were raided in Tucson and Nogales, authorities said.

ICE said no details would be available until a 1 p.m. news conference.

Signs around Sergio's Shuttle indicate it serves a number of cities in southern Arizona -- including Tucson, Nogales, Benson, Douglas and the neighboring Mexican border town of Agua Prieta. One sign says "Hermosillo Shuttle," referring to the capital of the Mexican state of Sonora, which borders Arizona.




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