Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

PHOENIX (AP) - Maricopa County sheriff's deputies say they discovered more than a dozen illegal immigrants after stopping a speeding pickup truck.

The stop was made Wednesday on State Road 87. When the truck stopped, eight men got out and ran. Three of them were captured and 15 more were found crammed in the back of the truck under the camper shell.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio says the illegal immigrants were questioned and admitted to paying the driver between $1,000 and $8,000 to be smuggled into the United States.

The men were from Mexico and Guatemala and all were headed for the states of Florida, California, Washington and Georgia.

The sheriff's office says all but one of the immigrants were booked into the county jail on state charges of human smuggling. One 15-year-old was turned over to federal immigration authorities.