Border Patrol arrested two Mexican men for attempting to carry 17 people inside a pickup truck across the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday, said agents.
The Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck was spotted at the international boundary near Jacumba at about 5:30 p.m., according to U.S. Border Patrol. The truck was followed as it drove onto Interstate 8. Agents finally caught up to the driver after he crashed into a drainage ditch at the Ribbonwood Road exit.
Eighteen passengers were found inside the vehicle, with most of them lying beneath a large piece of plywood, according to Border Patrol agents. All of the people involved in the incident were deemed to be illegal immigrants from Mexico, including the passengers and the driver.
Nobody was hurt even when the vehicle plunged into the ditch, said agents. The truck’s driver was identified as a 31-year-old convicted felon who had previously served 70 months in Federal prison, according to agents. He once drove over an agent in 2008 during a separate smuggling attempt.
Another 29-year-old man was identified from the group of passengers as a principal smuggler and faces Federal human smuggling charges. According to Border Patrol, there is evidence that the smuggling attempt is connected with a criminal organization called Tomas Lara-Sanchez, that operates out of East County.
