Cross-border smuggling attempt leaves one dead, another jailed

An attempt to smuggle seven Mexican nationals onto U.S. soil this week resulted in the death of one of the smuggled individuals and the arrest of the 23-year-old man responsible.

“Due to this tragic result, the smuggler should face the highest consequences,” Acting Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Boone Smith said

The smuggler was caught in San Diego County, California. He was identified following a tip sent to U.S. Border Patrol about a woman wandering on Otay Mountain, lost and worried about a dehydrated husband. Border Patrol agents later located the woman and her husband about two miles north of the border.

However, the woman’s husband was already dead when a K-9 team found him in the early hours of the morning.

The agents worked backward and linked the couple to a separate incident, wherein six Mexican nationals were apprehended about five miles north of the border. From there, they worked through the group and determined which one was the smuggler, who was then charged with human smuggling.