N.M. - Border Patrol agents stop two human smuggling attempts

by Jesse MartinezWednesday, February 8th 2017

http://static-19.sinclairstoryline.c...?1486580974315
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Border Patrol.


SANTA TERESA, N.M. (KFOX14) — Border Patrol agents in southern New Mexico area stopped two U.S. citizens from attempts to smuggle people into the U.S. over the weekend.

In the first case, Border Patrol agents Friday saw several people using a ladder to climb over a fence near Sunland Park, New Mexico, and illegally enter the U.S.

Agents saw a vehicle drive up to where the subjects were hiding, and those individuals got into the vehicle and fled the area, officials said.

Agents spotted the vehicle and tried to stop it along the Pete Domenici Highway.

The vehicle did not come to a complete stop as it slowly drove along the highway shoulder. It then picked up speed and tried to elude agents, officials said.

Border Patrol agents further along the road used a tire-deflation device to slow the vehicle, but it continued to drive down the highway, officials said.

Local and state authorities were called to stop the vehicle, and the El Paso Air Branch of the CBP Air and Marine Operations gave air support.

The vehicle finally stopped near mile marker 6, and the driver, Luis Miguel Macias, 33, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody. Five other people inside were also taken in by authorities, officials said.

Macias had a warrant for his arrest out of Colorado for dangerous drugs, and he also has a criminal history.

The five people who entered the country illegally were Honduran nationals and were processed for immigration violations, officials said.

In a separate case on Saturday, what was described as a “suspicious motorist” was stopped at the immigration checkpoint on New Mexico State Road 11.

Officials said the man had strange mannerisms and was inconsistent with his responses.

He was later identified as Meredith Lee Wilkins, 70, and he was trying to transport two Mexican nationals into the country illegally, officials said.

Wilkins and the two Mexican nationals were taken into custody and were transported to the Deming Border Patrol station for processing.

http://kfoxtv.com/news/local/border-...pts-02-08-2017