Overview
- Border Patrol officers discovered 11 people hidden among pallets of carrots inside a commercial tractor-trailer near Nogales on Thursday after acting on information that someone might be inside the trailer.
- The Mexican-origin driver of the truck was detained and is expected to face federal human-smuggling charges that carry up to 10 years in prison and higher penalties if prosecutors prove a profit motive.
- Separately, agents from the Three Points station identified a 19-person group on the Mexican side organizing to enter the U.S., prompting U.S. officials to activate a binational response and alert Mexico’s Army and National Guard.
- When Mexican forces arrived, seven people escaped and are presumed to be guides, while the remaining 12, mostly Mexican and Central American nationals, were turned over to Mexico’s National Migration Institute for processing.
- Authorities say commercial trucks are a common concealment tactic, urge migrants not to trust paid guides, and are continuing binational investigations as suspected smugglers remain at large and intercepted migrants face processing or removal.