Tucson Standard

Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Tucson sector announced the arrest of three illegal aliens and three U.S. citizens near Sells, Arizona, on March 23. The arrests followed a traffic stop conducted by the Tohono O’odham Police Department, as said in a CBP press release on March 24.

According to the Tohono O’odham Police Department, officers contacted CBP after uncovering a smuggling operation during a traffic stop of a GMC Yukon near Sells. Three women in the vehicle were suspected of being in the country illegally and were later identified as being from Uzbekistan, Guatemala, and Mexico. The other occupants, a female and a male, were U.S. citizens. The female U.S. citizen had prior federal convictions for human smuggling in 2023 and conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2022. The male U.S. citizen had been convicted of sexual offenses against a minor in 2023.

The CBP indicated that the U.S. citizens involved in the smuggling event will be prosecuted in federal court and will remain in custody. The three illegal aliens will serve as material witnesses in those proceedings before beginning removal proceedings to return to their respective countries.

The Tucson sector covers much of Arizona, stretching from the border of New Mexico to Yuma County’s border, approximately 262 border miles. There are about 3,700 agents stationed across nine locations within this sector: Why, Casa Grande, Douglas, Bisbee, Nogales, Sonoita, Tucson, Three Points, and Wilcox.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security responsible for safeguarding the nation's borders and preventing illegal entry of people and contraband. Established in 1924, it operates at 328 ports of entry and protects 7,000 miles of land borders along with 95,000 miles of maritime borders.