Nogales Border Patrol agents working at the Immigration Checkpoint on Interstate 19 Sunday evening arrested an armed female U.S. citizen traveling with four children during an alleged attempt to smuggle an undocumented male Mexican national.
An agent working the primary lane directed a 39-year-old Rio Rico, Ariz., woman driving a Ford Expedition for a secondary immigration inspection of her two adult passengers. During questioning, agents identified a 29-year-old female passenger as being from Mexico with a border crossing card. The male passenger, however, was identified as 23-year-old Mexican national in the U.S. illegally.
Also in the vehicle were the Rio Rico woman’s three children, ages 10, 11 and 13, as well as her 5-year-old nephew. In addition, the driver had a loaded .38 caliber pistol strapped to her hip. Agents arrested both women for human smuggling, while the man is being processed for immigration violations
Agents turned three of the four children over to Child Protection Services. The 5-year-old was turned over to his mother.
