(The Center Square) – A human smuggling attempt was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents in Douglas, Arizona, on Monday night, according to a news release.
“In this case, our CBP officers noticed unusual behavior at the time of inspection, the officer’s discretion to further inspect led to the foiled smuggling attempt,” Martin Gomez, Area Port Director for Douglas, said in a statement.
The attempt was made by a 56-year-old American citizen who tried to bring a 29-year-old woman from Mexico without documentation into the country by hiding her in the trunk of a 1997 Dodge Stratus. However, the news release notes that the American “was fumbling and appeared to be unfamiliar with the vehicle.”
The law enforcement agency said it arrested the man for allegedly breaking federal law and said the woman was “detained and processed accordingly.”
Authorities said they noticed the trunk of the Dodge looked “abnormally elevated” and noticed that the woman was inside the “spare tire well.”
The thwarted attempt comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to make arrests and deport those who have entered the country illegally, including in major cities. Arizona is considered a hub for illegal immigration through border gaps as well as illicit activities at legal ports of entry.
