U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the San Ysidro port of entry have thwarted an alleged human smuggling attempt of six Chinese nationals, who were concealed in a false wall of a moving truck.
“We routinely encounter persons from all over the world attempting to enter our country illegally,” said CBP Director of Field Operations for San Diego Pete Flores. “This incident serves as another example of the inhumane tactics smugglers will utilize in order to circumvent our laws. Fortunately in this instance, no one was seriously injured.”
On November 7, at approximately 12 p.m., a 23-year-old male U.S. citizen arrived at the San Ysidro border crossing from Mexico, driving a moving truck. A CBP officer conducting inspections of vehicles as they waited in line noticed that the rear door of the moving truck was ajar. As the CBP officer was speaking to the driver, a CBP canine team alerted to the wall of the moving truck.
CBP officers inspected the truck’s rear wall, prying it open slightly with a flat-head screwdriver, revealing a person. The driver was immediately removed from the vehicle and escorted into a secure area for further processing. CBP officers drove the truck to a secure location where they removed the false wall, freeing six Chinese nationals.
CBP officers took the driver into custody and later transported him to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to await criminal proceedings.
CBP officers placed an immigration hold on the six Chinese nationals for the pending criminal and immigration proceedings.
