(34 In Custody)...It happened in two separate incidents.
El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents made the arrests. Both incidents occurred Monday. At around 3:40 in the afternoon agents encountered a suspicious van in the area of East Ross Road and Cannon Road in El Centro. After stopping the van, the agents found 24 illegal migrants inside the vehicle. 21 men, two women and a male juvenile. A 26 year old US citizen was driving the vehicle. The second incident happened later that evening. Agents stopped a tractor-trailer rig about five miles north of Brawley. During the stop the agents determined the 40 year old driver of the rig was a Mexican national who was in the US illegally. A search of the rig resulted in the discovery of 8 illegal migrants locked inside the trailer. In both instances, the drivers were processed for human smuggling. All the illegal migrants, all Mexican Nationals, were deported back to their country of origin.