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Teen Arrested In Human-Smuggling Attempt
April 2, 2009SAN DIEGO -- Federal agents arrested a 16-year-old girl in San Ysidro Thursday when they caught her trying to sneak 13 undocumented immigrants into the county in a truck disguised as a construction vehicle.
Border Patrol personnel spotted the pickup near the international line in the Smuggler's Gulch area about 6 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Seeing four people running toward Mexico from the area where the vehicle was parked, the officers headed in that direction to investigate.
As the agents approached the truck, the driver accelerated away, and they gave chase. A short time later, the driver yielded near the intersection of Hollister Street and Monument Road.
The girl behind the wheel of the truck and her male passenger were wearing yellow hard hats and reflective vests.
The officers searched the truck, finding one person hiding inside the cab and 11 others crammed in a modified compartment in the cargo bed.
The passengers, all of them Mexican nationals, were taken into custody. The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling.
The vehicle had been decorated to resemble those used by a company currently working on a large-scale infrastructure construction project in the border area of southern San Diego, according to CBP officials.
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