New device aids smuggling vehicle stop

El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Calexico Station recently used a new vehicle immobilization device known as the Grappler to stop a smuggling vehicle.

Authorities said the immobilization effort, the first recorded within the United States Border Patrol using the device, involved agents assigned to Remote Video Surveillance System (RVSS) at the Calexico station receiving a call reporting suspicious behavior near Gordon’s Well exit and Interstate 8 regarding a yellow PT Cruiser.

Agents responded to the area and witnessed a vehicle matching the description driving eastbound on Interstate 8. The vehicle then drove across the median and began to travel westbound.

After agents attempted to perform a vehicle stop that failed to force the motorist to yield, officials said additional agents responded with the Grappler, successfully stopping the vehicle without further incident.

The driver was identified as a 20-year-old male Border Crossing Card holder and the front passenger as a 17-year-old female U.S. citizen. In the back of the vehicle, agents discovered four Mexican citizens, all without the proper documentation to enter or remain in the United States.

The driver and passenger will be held in custody pending criminal prosecution while the four Mexican citizens will be held as material witnesses.