A registered sex offender was among three U.S. citizens arrested Sunday on suspicion of smuggling three women near Sells.
According to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Tohono O'odham Police officers discovered the smuggling was taking place after pulling over a GMC Yukon.
Officers contacted U.S. Border Patrol for assistance. BP agents arrived to find that three of the six occupants in the car were undocumented migrants, the news release said.
Agents determined that the three women were from Uzbekistan, Guatemala and Mexico respectively. The remaining occupants of the Yukon, two women and a man, were U.S. citizens.
Agents seized the SUV and arrested everyone in the group.
During a records check on the suspects, agents discovered the male U.S. citizen had been convicted of sexual offenses against a minor in 2023, the news release said.
One of the female smugglers had also been convicted of human smuggling in 2023 and of conspiracy to commit monetary instruments laundering in 2022.
The U.S. citizens will remain in custody, pending a determination in their criminal case, the news release said. The migrants will serve as witnesses in the case, then will be placed in removal proceedings, the news release said.
