Illegal immigrants arrested in phony UPS

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Associated Press 2 hrs 44 mins ago
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NILAND, Calif. (AP) It was a special delivery indeed 13 suspected illegal immigrants
from Mexico stuffed in a phony UPS van.

The U.S. Border Patrol said Tuesday that agents stopped the van Friday as the driver tried to
circumvent a highway checkpoint near Niland, about 150 miles east of San Diego in California's
Imperial Valley, near the Mexican border.
The van looked like a legitimate United Parcel Service Inc. delivery vehicle, except the company
decal on the back door was slightly crooked.
The driver, U.S. citizen Daniel Lopez, was charged in federal court in El Centro with illegal
transportation of aliens, authorities said.
Carlos Goens, the driver of another truck, was charged with the same crime after being detained
at a Border Patrol checkpoint. He is suspected of coordinating with the UPS van.
Migrants told authorities they had agreed to pay between $5,000 and $8,000 each to be smuggled
into the United States, according to the criminal complaint.
An agent reported seeing Goens leave a suspected stash house for illegal immigrants in the town
of Brawley, leading authorities to the UPS vehicle. Another agent pulled over the UPS van at a
mobile home park in Niland.
Attorneys for Goens and Lopez did not immediately respond to phone messages Wednesday.
Border Patrol agents recently began visiting Imperial Valley businesses and government agencies
to warn about smugglers cloning their vehicles, said spokesman Adrian Corona. Telltale signs
include misspellings on agency or company logos and crooked decals.
In recent years, smugglers have used fake vehicles of the California Highway Patrol and Imperial
Irrigation District.
Last year, a white van filled with 13 illegal immigrants from Mexico dressed as clean-cut
Marines were stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint near San Diego.
A Border Patrol agent who had served in the Marine Corps wasn't fooled, especially when the
driver didn't know the Corps' birthday.