SALTON CITY, Calif. – El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Indio Station apprehended three undocumented Mexican Nationals in an unnerving attempt to pass through the Highway 86 checkpoint undetected in the confines of a storage compartment under the bed of a recreational vehicle.
The incident occurred on March 19, at approximately 2 p.m., when a 23-year-old male driver and his 18-year-old female passenger approached the Border Patrol checkpoint driving a 2006 Four Winds Five-Thousand Recreational Vehicle.
A Border Patrol canine detection team alerted to the vehicle. Agents referred the vehicle to secondary inspection for a more thorough examination. Agents discovered a wooden box with a screwed lid in the rear storage compartment under the bed of the recreational vehicle. Agents unscrewed the lid of the box and discovered three illegal aliens, one 17-year-old male juvenile, and two males, 19 and 21-years-old.
The driver and passenger, both U.S. citizens, were arrested on suspicion of alien smuggling. The suspects, the vehicle, and the three Mexican Nationals are in Border Patrol custody.
The El Centro Sector’s Community Awareness Campaign is a simple and effective program to raise public awareness on the indicators of crime and other threats. We encourage public and private sector employees to remain vigilant and play a key role in keeping our country safe. Please report any suspicious activity to the Border Community Threat Hotline at 1-800-901-2003.