Sheriff's deputies stop vans carrying illegal immigrants

Apr 3. 2007
ALBUQUERQUE A traffic stop by Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies this afternoon along Interstate 40 led to the discovery of more than two dozen illegal immigrants and suspected smugglers packed into two vans.

The deputies stopped the first van after noticing that a passenger wasn't wearing a seat belt.

They suspect the driver and passenger, whose names were not immediately released, were smuggling the other passengers from Los Angeles to an unknown destination.

The second van stopped moments later had 16 people inside, including a man authorities suspect was a smuggler.

Immigration officials searched the two groups before taking them into custody.

Authorities say the illegal immigrants would be processed and returned to their home countries of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.

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