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CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) - Traffic on Interstate 10 was snarled for hours Sunday afternoon after a man called authorities and said he was being forced to drive a U-Haul truck filled with illegal immigrants to Mexico.

The resulting chase and standoff closed I-10 in both directions near Casa Grande for several hours, clogging the main route between Phoenix and Tucson.

But after several hours, a SWAT team determined the truck was empty.

Officer Robert Bailey says the man told officers his family was also being held hostage and that there were three men in the back of the truck with high powered rifles.

The truck stopped after its tires were flattened by the DPS and the man was taken into custody. It took about three hours for the SWAT team to arrive, scout the truck and determine it was empty.

The highway reopened at about 4:30 p.m.