Semitrailer was hauling 70 illegally

This vehicle has been spotted and reported by the Campo Minutemen numerous times.


Semitrailer was hauling 70 illegally

By Kristina Davis
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 24, 2007

A truck driver was arrested Friday after U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered he'd hauled 70 undocumented migrants across the border in a semitrailer specially designed for human smuggling, authorities said.

The trailer was equipped with a large freezer chest, cool soda and bottled water, fans and a trapdoor in the floor to discreetly load and unload drugs or people, the Border Patrol said.


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“This is one of the most sophisticated I've seen,” Border Patrol agent Gabriel Guerrero said. “It was obviously equipped for a long trip.”

Agents received an anonymous call at 4:30 p.m. reporting a large group of people being loaded into a semitrailer in a trucking lot in Tecate near the port of entry.

The caller provided a detailed description of the red-and-white truck, down to the numbers on its side.

About two hours later, agents spotted a tractor-trailer matching the description trying to cross the Border Patrol checkpoint on state Route 94 near Dulzura.

The driver appeared nervous and was sent to a secondary inspection area, where he allowed agents to search his trailer, the Border Patrol said.

“At first, all you can see is a big wall of shredded cardboard haystacks,” Guerrero said.

Agents brushed the cardboard aside and uncovered 70 men and women hunched behind the wall.

The travel accommodations were much more comfortable than others that border inspectors have encountered in recent years. People have been smuggled in everything from piñatas and washing machines to gas tanks and hollowed-out car seats, border inspectors have reported.

In 2003, 19 immigrants died while being transported in a sealed tractor-trailer in Victoria, Texas. The trailer was not equipped with ventilation or a trapdoor, causing more than 74 people inside to swelter in deadly temperatures and claw at the insulation, gasping for air.

But Guerrero said even riding in the upgraded trailer can be perilous.

“Granted, it's more accommodating than six people being put into the trunk of a Civic, but it's still very dangerous,” Guerrero said. “On the 94, the road is very winding, and it is by no means a safe trip.”

It is unclear where the group was headed.

The undocumented migrants were taken into custody and processed at a nearby station.

The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of alien smuggling.

Authorities say it is common for migrants to cross the Mexican border in small groups and gather at a safe house on the U.S. side, where they join others for the trip to Los Angeles or Northern California.

Kristina Davis: (760) 476-8233; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com