Buckeye police investigate 2 human smuggling cases in 24-hour timespan
BUCKEYE, Ariz. - Buckeye police are investigating two suspected human smuggling cases, with both of them happening just north of Interstate 10 and Verrado Way.
Both incidents happened within 24 hours of each other, police said.
In the first case, officers responded to reports of two "suspicious" vehicles parked on the side of the road near 214th Avenue and McDowell just before 9 a.m. on Sept. 7.
Police discovered that five men were hiding in the cars, and a sixth person was in a desert area just south of them.
"Investigators learned all six people were undocumented immigrants who were in the process of getting out of one vehicle and getting into a second vehicle when the drivers ran away and left them behind," police said in a statement.
Meanwhile, at around 6 a.m. on Sept. 8, another "suspicious" vehicle was reported near Verrado Way and McDowell.
The driver was reportedly unable to provide a driver's license and had "no ties to the community."
Both cases were turned over to Border Patrol.