Late Friday night, four undocumented entrants along with one U.S. citizen were arrested and booked into the 4th Avenue Jail, on state human smuggling charges, which are class four felonies according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
During the initial contact, the female driver told Sheriff’s deputies she was at a gas station when four men, one armed with a gun, forced her at gun point to drive the group of undocumented entrants to their destination. During the course of the investigation the female driver admitted to detectives that she had falsified her story and knowingly engaged in Human Smuggling.
During interviews with detectives, members of the group admitted to paying between $2,000 and $2,200 to be illegally smuggled into the U.S. Their destinations were Arizona, California and Texas. The group also admitted to being from Mexico and Honduras crossing illegally into Arizona through Sonoita.
The arrest coming just a week after a couple was ambushed on S.R. 85, by three undocumented entrants which were later arrested and booked into the 4th Avenue Jail. Sheriff Joe Arpaio states “I will continue to enforce the laws and protect the citizens of Maricopa County.”
In the month Sheriff’s deputies have arrested 81 undocumented entrants in the process of coming into Maricopa County from Mexico and Central America.