All four people, including two Americans, in the car were arrested.
A U.S. Border Patrol K-9 officer helped with the arrests of two Mexican citizens who allegedly illegally entered the U.S. in the trunk of a car.
Two American citizens allegedly smuggled the pair into Arizona in the trunk, but a K-9 officer sniffed them out before they could go further, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.
#USBP agents & #PawsOnPatrol K9 team arrest 2 men smuggling 2 illegal aliens @ the SR90 #CBP #ImmigrationCheckpoint https://t.co/byaPDvtNAQ pic.twitter.com/hgWwr7SlUA
— CBP Arizona (@CBPArizona) September 1, 2017
Agents working at the immigration checkpoint near Whetstone, Arizona, referred a 2008 Infiniti coupe for a secondary inspection after a CBP dog alerted them to an odor it was trained to detect.
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Agents opened the trunk to find the two people hiding inside.
The two Mexican citizens were arrested and are being processed for immigration violations while the 24-year-old driver and 26-year-old passenger, both from Tucson, were arrested for human smuggling.
"The tactic of concealing humans in the trunks of vehicles is commonly used by smugglers, which could lead to suffocation, heat stroke, hypothermia or injury from vehicle collisions," CBP said in a statement.
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"And while many vehicles are equipped with safety features that would allow passengers to escape through the cargo compartment in an emergency, some do not. However, for the safety features to work, occupants need to know how to use them," the statement continued,
The vehicle they were in was also seized by authorities.
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