Calexico, Calif. CBP Officers Find Smuggled Women Hidden in Pickup Compartment

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Calexico, Calif. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting border security inspections over the weekend at the downtown Calexico, Calif. port of entry discovered three undocumented Mexican women hidden within a non-factory compartment on the back of a pickup truck driven by a Mexican man entering the United States from Mexico.

Two of the women complained of medical issues after they were removed from the small metal compartment in the bed of the Ford F-150. CBP officers transported them to a local medical facility for professional medical care. One woman complained of burns from the vehicle on her right hip and leg. The other woman complained of feeling faint.

CBP officers encountered the driver, a 60-year-old legal permanent resident of Holtville, as he entered the port on Saturday, April 28, at about 3:30 a.m. Inconsistencies in the driver’s answers to questions resulted in his referral to the secondary area for further inspection.

In the secondary lot, a narcotics and human detector dog alerted to the vehicle and CBP officers subsequently discovered a specially constructed compartment underneath a utility toolbox and the vehicle’s extra exterior gasoline tank. Looking through a small crack in the compartment, officers could see white cloth and one of the women.