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Operation Blazing Sands Leads to Arrests of Three More Smugglers

Release Date
Fri, 08/31/2018

EL CENTRO, Calif. – Border Patrol agents arrested three men suspected of alien smuggling in El Centro Sector Thursday night.

The apprehension was part of the ongoing Operation Blazing Sands, a joint operation between El Centro and Yuma Border Patrol sectors. 

The incident occurred at approximately 10:50 p.m., when agents observed a group of six individuals illegally enter the United States before loading into a red Pontiac SUV on Interstate 8, west of Yuma.  Agents observed the Pontiac drive west on Interstate 8, while air assets from Air and Marine Operations kept visual of the vehicle.   

Agents followed the Pontiac into a motel parking lot in El Centro and witnessed the driver quickly run into a room while the other occupants remained in the vehicle.  Agents approached the vehicle, identified themselves, and determined that the six passengers are Mexican citizens without the proper documentation to enter or remain in the United States.  One of the passengers admitted to guiding the group across the border and into the vehicle.  The passenger in the front seat was a 31-year-old United States citizen.

Agents arrested the driver who entered the room, and identified him as a 25-year-old United States citizen.

The five smuggled passengers, all women including one juvenile, will be processed pending the disposition of the smuggling case.

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.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021