TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Cochise County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) joined a multi-agency effort in containing a series of smuggling busts, involving over 20 undocumented immigrants and an underage driver.
Sheriff Mark J. Dannels says the late-Wednesday encounters began at 6 p.m. and lasted till almost midnight.
At the first scene, members of the Operation Safe Streets Task Force (OSSTF) with the CCSO encountered Tucson woman smuggling four undocumented migrants.
An hour later, The Naco Border Patrol Brian Terry Station spotted some people leaving a brush and sneaking into a large SUV.
When an agent tried to stop it, the car sped away and lost control "striking the roadway." The twenty-year-old driver and his six travelers were all in the U.S. illegally.
OSSTF members of the Sierra Vista Police Department again caught a 19-year-old American man smuggling seven undocumented people at 9:45 p.m.
He also tried to get away. This led to authorities using tire deflation devices in order to force a stop.
Just before midnight, a CCSO deputy spotted fake-looking Arizona plates on a Ford F350 on Highway 80 and Kings Highway west of Douglas.
After stopping it, the CCSO discovered a 14-year-old boy driving the truck along with a 17-year-old young man sitting shotgun.
In addition to the underage driver, the CCSO also found six undocumented immigrants hidden in the bed of the truck.
Deputies worked hand-in-hand with federal agents, as well as the Arizona Department of Public Safety throughout these smuggling busts.
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