Human Smugglers Pack Migrants with Small Child in Rear of Truck near Border in AZ

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested two alleged human smugglers after they reportedly hid six migrants in a pickup truck. The migrants included a small child.

Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin tweeted photos from a human smuggling interdiction last week on Highway 191 in Arizona. During the traffic stop agents found six migrants allegedly being smuggled by two U.S. citizens.

Two U.S. citizens, 16 and 19, were arrested last Sunday on Hwy 191. Douglas Station agents stopped the pickup truck and found a total of six smuggled migrants lying in the rear seat and truck bed, including a small child. Smugglers frequently place migrants in harm’s way. pic.twitter.com/quwwiMug5m

— John R. Modlin (@USBPChiefTCA) February 12, 2023

The smuggled migrants included a small child, Modlin stated. The migrants were hiding in the rear seat and the truck bed.

“Smugglers frequently place migrants in harm’s way,” the Arizona sector chief stated.

The traffic stop by Douglas Station agents led to the arrest of the two alleged teenage smugglers. The suspects include a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old.

Elsewhere in the sector, Sonoita Station agents witnessed a vehicle driving erratically near the state’s border with Mexico. The agent began to follow the SUV and observed a flat tire with “significant damage,” Modlin tweeted.

She eventually slowed and dangerously fled from the moving vehicle on foot. One of the two passengers, both smuggled migrants, was able to stop the moving SUV. Both migrants and the driver, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, were arrested. The smuggler faces criminal charges. 2/2

— John R. Modlin (@USBPChiefTCA) February 11, 2023

Despite the damaged wheel on what was later determined to be a rented SUV, the woman kept driving en route to Patagonia, Arizona.

The woman eventually slowed the vehicle and jumped out, leaving the migrants in a moving vehicle. Another passenger and two of the smuggled migrants managed to stop the rolling SUV.

Agents arrested the driver, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, and the two smuggled migrants. The woman now faces criminal charges.