Migrant Illegally Flies Ultralight Across Border from Mexico

Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector arrested the pilot of an ultralight aircraft after he used it to illegally fly across the border from Mexico. A CBP Air and Marine Operations aircrew assisted in the tracking of the aircraft.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection border surveillance equipment operators detected an unknown aircraft approaching the U.S.-Mexico border. The operators dispatched an Air and Marine Operations aircrew to search for the ultralight aircraft (ULA) ad follow it to a landing point, according to information provided by Tucson Sector CBP officials.

The aircrew coordinated with U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Tucson Sector who followed the ULA’s path from the ground. The aircrew and Border Patrol agents followed the aircraft for nearly an hour before it finally made an “improvised landing” along a highway near Kino Springs, Arizona. Border Patrol agents moved in and found the damaged aircraft. The pilot apparently abandoned the ULA.

Border Patrol agents carried out a ground search of the area and finally found the pilot hiding in a wash. The agents placed the 39-year-0ld Mexican national under arrest for immigration violations and transported him to the station for processing.

This is the third ultralight aircraft seized by CBP officials this fiscal year. In May, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents tracked down an ultralight aircraft used by Mexican cartels to smuggle 200 grams of fentanyl and 143 pounds of methamphetamine, Breitbart Texas reported. In December, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents tracked down two ultralight aircraft that Mexican cartels used to smuggle more than $1.4 million in methamphetamine.

Smugglers have also used drones to smuggle drugs.

Border Patrol agents in the El Paso Sector witnessed smugglers utilizing a drone to act as a scout for human smuggling operations, Breitbart News reported in April. The tactic came to light as an agent monitoring the border with an infrared camera observed a small airborne object traveling north into the U.S. from Mexico. The object made its way about 100 yards into the U.S. before returning to Mexico. The agent observed this behavior three more times.