San Ysidro, Calif. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers yesterday arrested a Colorado man trying to smuggle two illegal aliens hidden in a non-factory floor compartment of 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer.
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On Oct. 26, at 3 p.m., an officer conducting inspections at the San Ysidro port of entry referred the driver of the SUV, 37-year-old male U.S. citizen and resident of Pueblo, Colo. for an in-depth inspection.
The officers conducting the inspection opened the rear hatch of the Trailblazer and when they lifted the carpet, they discovered a 31-year-old male, and a 19-year-old female, both Mexican citizens with out the proper documents to enter the United States.
The vehicle had been modified with a sheet metal compartment to accommodate the two individuals in between the floor and the undercarriage.
CBP officers arrested the driver and booked him into the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Both illegal aliens will be held as material witnesses, and will be removed from the country at the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
CBP seized the vehicle.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.