Over a dozen arrested during traffic stop



Highway patrol discovers 18 men and one woman suspected of being in country illegally

What started out as a routine traffic stop for speeding along U.S. Highway 54 netted one of the largest arrests of illegal immigrants in recent memory.
Around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a 2005 Ford F-250 truck for driving 73 mph in a 65 mph zone along U.S. Highway 54 in Ford County.

Trooper Ron Knoefel said that while speaking with the driver, the trooper discovered that not only were there 18 people in the vehicle, but none had legal identification on them.


Arrested were 17 men and one woman, ranging in age from 21 to 45 years old.

"There were no juveniles in the truck," Knoefel said. "That's a good thing."

The car was legally registered in Arizona and was not stolen, Knoefel said.

Ford County Sheriff Dean Bush said the Ford County Detention Center housed the detainees Wednesday night, and members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement picked them up Thursday morning.

Knoefel said he did not know if any of those arrested had previous criminal records. He said he also didn't know how 18 people had squeezed into the truck.
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