Man arrested after attempting to smuggle three immigrants

A 30-year-old man was arrested by Border Patrol agents after he attempted to smuggle three illegal immigrants by evading the Interstate 8 Immigration Checkpoint Saturday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wellton Station agents stopped a silver Ford F-150 after the driver left Highway 95 and traveled through Dome Valley and tried to avoid the Interstate 8 Immigration Checkpoint. The driver had also attempted to smuggle three immigrants. Agents determined that the immigrants were Mexican nationals, ranging from ages 19 to 35, illegally present in the United States.

One of the Mexican nationals had been previously removed three times with a felony conviction for forgery in Iowa.

The driver, a U.S. citizen, was arrested for human smuggling. The illegal immigrants were processed for immigration violations.