Illegal alien smuggling suspect, caught 40 times before, nabbed on Ohio Turnpike
PORT CLINTON ― U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a Mexican citizen suspected of smuggling illegal aliens into the United States after a minivan crammed with 11 passengers was stopped on Saturday by the Ohio Highway Patrol near the Fremont-Port Clinton exit on the Ohio Turnpike.
The border patrol said in a news release issued Tuesday that a "large quantity of cash" was found hidden in the driver's clothing and wallet during processing at the border patrol station in Port Clinton, and that the driver had been removed from the United States more than 40 times since 2006.
The border patrol said agents assigned to the Detroit Sector from the Sandusky Bay station were notified by the Ohio Highway Patrol of a possible smuggling event on Saturday morning. Agents responded to milepost 91 on the turnpike and met with the trooper, according to the news release.
The trooper had pulled over the vehicle, a Toyota Sienna, for a cracked windshield and found 11 passengers in the vehicle that only had seating for seven. Agents questioned the people in the van and they all admitted they did not possess any documents that allowed them to be or remain in the United States, the border patrol said.
Each passenger was interviewed at the scene and agents confirmed that they all had entered unlawfully into the United States, the news release said.
During interviews, the passengers stated they or their family members had paid for them to be driven from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to various states along the east coast including Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida, the border patrol said.
The Mexican citizen is being presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio for prosecution of 8 USC 1324- Alien Smuggling, the border patrol said, and the 11 passengers are being held pending removal proceedings.
Chief Patrol Agent Robert Danley said, “This is yet another great example of how Detroit Sector’s strong partnerships help to keep not only our communities safe, but areas all over the Midwest and eastern seaboard. Without these partnerships, this human smuggling event that originated on the southwest border would have likely been successful and the repeated disregard of our laws by the smuggler would have been ultimately rewarded. I am proud of our relationships with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, as our combined efforts continue to disrupt local and transnational criminal organizations.”
Anyone with information on suspicious activity is asked to call the Detroit Sector Border Patrol Border Watch telephone number toll-free at 800-537-3220.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ohio Turnpike stop uncovers smuggling event, cash on Mexican driver
