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Human smugglers grabbed, U.S. agents say

By Lisa Buie
Published January 24, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Federal agents broke up two suspected human smuggling operations Tuesday morning after separate traffic stops on Interstate 75 in Pasco County.

Two helicopters and police dogs helped authorities track down at least three people who escaped to woods near a cow pasture after jumping out of a white Ford van that agents stopped at the apex of State Roads 54 and 56, said Agent Steve McDonald of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The van had a Texas license plate.

Authorities had 15 people in custody Tuesday night and were searching for at least three more, McDonald said. He said a few of the detainees were as young as 15.

Agents, who patrol in marked cars, saw the van traveling south about 8:30 a.m., McDonald said. The driver, whose name was not available, abruptly took the SR 56 exit near Wesley Chapel and headed west, then turned north on SR 54 before stopping.

"They felt the driver was being evasive," McDonald said.

In an incident nearly two hours earlier, agents pulled over a Ford Explorer with Arizona tags traveling south near the Dade City exit. No one tried to escape during that incident.

McDonald did not have names of anyone detained or details about what made the vehicles suspicious. He said there are clues that agents look for in targeting human smuggling operations, including a bounce that indicates excessive weight.

McDonald said agents suspect the vehicles' occupants entered the country through the Arizona desert southwest of Tucson.

Despite the sketchy information about the stops, McDonald said agents "know these are smugglers." He said human smuggling has been an ongoing problem in the Southeast.

This month, seven illegal immigrants died in Oklahoma when a minivan hit a patch of ice and crashed on Interstate 40 during a winter storm. Authorities said they were being smuggled to North Carolina.

[Last modified January 23, 2007, 21:49:52]