19 illegal immigrants caught smuggled in van...

19 people caught smuggled in van

By Andria Simmons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/19/08
It's the type of thing you hear about in border towns in Texas or California, but not in suburban Gwinnett County.

Yet, for the second time in a month, a routine police traffic stop on I-85 has led police to the discovery of human smuggling.

Officers on Monday found 19 men, women and children crammed into a van ferrying them across the United States.

The driver of the 2001 Chevrolet van with Texas license plates was pulled over near I-85 North at Buford Drive because the windows were tinted darker than the legal limit, said Cpl. Illana Spellman, spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County police.

Police found the stowaways in the back, lying on top of each other on the floor and between the seats. There were a dozen men, five women and three children, and they reportedly had no possessions except the clothes on their backs. They ranged in age from 6 to 47.

The passengers admitted being in the country illegally for less than three weeks, Spellman said. They were all Hispanic, but police were not sure what country they came from.

The driver, Lazaro Ayala, 23, allegedly gave officers an Arizona driver's license with someone else's personal information on it. The license was suspended, Spellman said. She said Ayala then admitted he also was in the country illegally and was transporting the occupants of the van from Dallas, Texas, to New York.

Officers took Ayala and the passengers to a nearby police station before handing them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation and possible deportation. Ayala may also face federal prosecution.

It was the second surprising find in a month for Gwinnett police, who began aggressively patrolling the county's major highways at the end of January with a new "interdiction unit." The unit was created to intercept drug trafficking. Eight veteran officers trained in commercial motor vehicle enforcement, canine operation, drug enforcement and auto theft investigation make up the unit.

On Feb. 18, the driver of a pickup truck was stopped for window tint violations and police found six illegal immigrants concealed underneath a blanket in the bed of the truck. Four more people, including the driver, were in the cab.

It's unknown how much human smuggling occurred under authorities' noses prior to this year, but Spellman said Tuesday "this is clearly a sign that things have been getting past us."

Gwinnett police Officer David Schiralli said it will take time before police can tell whether the two recent busts are part of a growing trend.

"We are now turning up things that we've never seen before, so we don't know if this is just the tip of the iceberg or these are isolated incidents," Schiralli said.



http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/printedition/2008/
03/19/immigrants0319.html