Border Patrol: Smugglers Planting Booby Traps

POSTED: 6:59 pm PST February 12, 2008
UPDATED: 7:28 pm PST February 12, 2008


SAN DIEGO -- Smugglers of drugs and illegal immigrants are using booby traps to try and harm Border Patrol agents, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.


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Images: Border Booby Traps
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Authorities released photos Tuesday of what agents said they found east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry: a thick metal wire tied onto the secondary border fence. The wire stretched across the border road and led into Mexico through a hole in the primary border fence, officials said.


When pulled tight, the wire rises about 4 feet high, or at neck level for an agent patrolling the border on All Terrain Vehicles, according to officials.

According to the agents, their crackdown against smugglers and drug traffickers has led to more violence along the border. Officials said a total of 176 assaults have been reported against agents in San Diego this fiscal year.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/15286924/detail.html