Previously Deported Armed Man Caught Smuggling Migrants in Arizona

Border Patrol agents assigned to an immigration checkpoint near the Arizona border with Mexico found an armed human smuggler with three people locked in the trunk of the vehicle. The three migrants included a minor.

Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John R. Modlin tweeted a photo showing a migrant child being transported in the trunk of a sedan. Agents assigned to the Interstate 19 immigration checkpoint found the migrant child and two adults locked inside the trunk.

Three migrants, to include a minor dangerously concealed in the trunk, were apprehended at the I-19 #USBP Checkpoint by Nogales Station agents.

The driver, a previously removed Mexican citizen, was carrying a loaded firearm. He faces prosecution.

Outstanding work! pic.twitter.com/dNSL0pDDmB

— John R. Modlin (@USBPChiefTCA) December 27, 2021

The agents identified the driver as a Mexican national who had previously been deported by immigration officers, Modlin stated. The agents discovered the Mexican human smuggler was armed with a loaded firearm. He now faces prosecution related to human smuggling and illegal firearms possession.

Agents assigned to the State Road 83 immigration checkpoint found five migrants in a sedan. They found one of the migrants locked inside the trunk of the sedan. The agents arrested the U.S. citizen driver and the five Mexican nationals.

Another trunk smuggling attempt caught by #Tucson Sector Checkpoint agents.
Agents at the SR-83 Checkpoint arrested two U.S. citizens smuggling five migrants, all citizens of Mexico. One migrant was concealed in the trunk. Excellent work from our Sonoita Station agents. pic.twitter.com/LQJUvR69J2

— John R. Modlin (@USBPChiefTCA) December 26, 2021

Over the holiday weekend the U.S. Border Patrol encountered several large groups of undocumented migrants, some using creative but dangerous concealment methods. #USBP #HonorFirst pic.twitter.com/0OPKgVZrXI

— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) December 27, 2021