Border Patrol Finds 2 Men Hiding in SUV’s Hidden Compartments in Arizona; Driver Arrested

POSTED 11:37 AM, AUGUST 16, 2016, BY MELISSA PAMER, UPDATED AT 01:37PM, AUGUST 16, 2016

The discovery of two Mexican men hiding in secret compartments of an SUV trying to cross into Arizona prompted the arrest of the driver, the Border Patrol said Tuesday.


Agents at the Interstate 19 traffic checkpoint in Nogales, Arizona, discovered two men in an SUV's hidden compartments on Aug. 14, 2016. (Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

The Ford Expedition was stopped Sunday at a checkpoint in Nogales, along Interstate 19, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Agents were performing a “secondary inspection” of the SUV when they found two aftermarket compartments concealing a male Mexican national in each compartment, the release said.

The compartments had only external lashes, leaving the men no way to escape on their own in case of emergency.

“Smuggling organizations often use dangerous methods of transporting people across the border with no regard for safety,” the federal agency’s news release stated.

On Monday, the agency announced that five Mexican men and an alleged U.S. citizen smuggler were hospitalized for dehydration after being found locked in a hot railroad box car in El Centro, near the Mexico-California border, on Aug. 12. The U.S. citizen was being prosecuted, Border Patrol said.

In the Nogales case, the driver, a U.S. citizen, was being held pending charges. A spokesperson for the Tuscon Sector of the Border Patrol said the driver was a 30-year-old man from Tucson.

The Mexican nationals will be processed for “removal,” the release said.

http://ktla.com/2016/08/16/border-pa...iver-arrested/