Man busted by Border Patrol after using counterfeit IID logos on truck
An 18-year-old man from the United States was busted in Calexico by El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents for disguising a truck to look like it belonged to the Imperial Irrigation District. The suspect was allegedly using the truck to smuggle immigrants into the U.S. illegally through IID’s hydro-electric plants positioned across the All-American Canal.
Border Patrol agents responded Monday at about 7:30 p.m. after a group of individuals was seen entering the country through one of the hydro-electric plants.
They found the suspect parked in the cloned IID truck where the illegal activity took place. Agents determined the truck was not an official IID truck; it actually belonged to an insurance company out of Arizona. The IID decals placed on the truck were counterfeit, agents said in the release.
The driver admitted he was involved in a smuggling scheme. An officer with the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office was called to impound the truck for having a fictitious license plate. The suspect was taken to the Calexico Border Patrol Station where the investigation is ongoing.
Soon after, Border Patrol agents arrested six immigrants nearby the cloned IID truck who were believed to be involved with the smuggling operation.
“The vigilance that our Border Patrol Agents display is vital in defeating criminal organizations and their astute smuggling tactics,” said Chief Patrol Agent Rodney S. Scott.
