Salton City, Calif. — Border Patrol agents assigned to the Indio, Calif. station stopped a tractor trailer with 14 people inside and arrested one suspected alien smuggler at the Highway 86 checkpoint located between Westmorland and Salton City, Calif.
The incident occurred at around 1:30 p.m., after a Border Patrol canine team alerted to an orange 2001 Freightliner tractor trailer. The vehicle was referred to secondary for further inspection. Inside the trailer, agents discovered 13 men and 1 woman that were citizens of Mexico and later determined to be in the United States illegally. Agents also discovered 2.5 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $5,800.
The operator of the tractor, a 28-year-old U.S citizen, was placed under arrest on suspicion of alien smuggling. The 14 undocumented aliens were also arrested.
The suspect and illegal aliens are in U.S. Border Patrol custody pending further investigation. U.S. Border Patrol seized both the marijuana and vehicle involved in the incident.
