Subject was transporting six illegal aliens

PORT CLINTON, Ohio - U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to Detroit Sector arrested a citizen of Honduras on suspicion of alien smuggling on Monday afternoon.

At approximately 2:00 AM on January 24, Border Patrol agents from the Sandusky Bay station were conducting highway patrol on Interstate 80 near Vickery, Ohio when they observed a suspicious vehicle in one of the service area parking lots. After conducting a record check on the vehicle, it was revealed that the registered owner had previously been convicted of 8 USC 1325 - Entry Without Inspection. Agents then conducted a vehicle stop, questioned the driver, who subsequently admitted that he and all the passengers were in the United States illegally. It was also discovered that the operator of the vehicle was a citizen of Honduras. Further investigation by agents revealed that no one possessed any documents that allowed them to be or remain in the United States. Each passenger was then interviewed at the scene and agents confirmed that they all had entered unlawfully into the United States.

During processing at the Border Patrol station in Port Clinton, it was discovered that one of the passengers had been previously removed from the United States. However, the remaining subjects had no prior immigration violations.

All information pertaining to the previously removed Honduran citizen was then forwarded to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio for prosecution of 8 USC 1324- Alien Smuggling. The remaining individuals are being held pending their removal proceedings.

“This is another example of how Detroit Sector supports the southwest border mission. I am proud of the Sandusky Bay Station agents who stopped this human smuggling attempt that originated in Texas,” said Chief Patrol Agent Robert Danley.

Anyone with information on suspicious activity is asked to call the Detroit Sector Border Patrol Border Watch telephone number toll-free at 800-537-3220.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the comprehensive management, control, and protection of our nation’s borders, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection at and between official ports of entry.