Three suspected human smugglers and seven undocumented immigrants were caught on Interstate 17 north of the Valley on August 27th.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer stopped to check on a disabled vehicle off the northbound lanes of Interstate 17 near Cordes Junction around 9:30 a.m.
The officer reportedly discovered nine undocumented immigrants being transported by two suspected human smugglers.
Officials say a woman arrived at the scene to pick up the undocumented immigrants to transport them on the reminder of their trip.
According to the report, the suspected smugglers admitted to their involvement and were arrested and booked for human smuggling along with the woman.
The seven undocumented immigrants were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to authorities.
A reported $1,200 in U.S. Currency was seized along with a 2001 Dodge Caravan and a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe.
“Almost every day DPS Officers come into contact with these UDA loads," said Roger Vanderpool, director of DPS.
"Over the past five years we have turned over more than 25,000 undocumented aliens to ICE. In this case we were able to arrest three suspected “coyotes” and IIMPACT (Illegal Immigration Prevention & Apprehension Co-op Team) detectives will investigate their connection to the numerous crime cartels that are profiting from human smuggling,”
