Criminal Organizations Now 'Cloning' Border Patrol Vehicles, CBP Says

INDIO, CA — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday its border patrol agents are finding that "transnational criminal organizations profit by going to great lengths to smuggle people and contraband into the United States."

Case in point: Agents with the El Centro Sector Border Patrol — which has an office in the Coachella Valley — intercepted a "cloned" border patrol truck near Mexicali Saturday morning.

The investigation began at approximately 6:15 a.m. Saturday when the agents spotted a person cutting the steel international boundary fence in an area about five miles from the Calexico Port of Entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection alerted Mexican authorities and all got involved in the incident, according to the federal agency.

When authorities arrived at the scene, they discovered the cloned truck, along with 17 people who U.S. Customs and Border Protection said were likely being smuggled across the border.

"Impersonating law enforcement officials is both reckless and illegal and is just one example of the smuggling tactics used by these criminal enterprises," according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announcement.

It's unclear how many cloned vehicles have been discovered in recent months, but the federal agency said it is aware of the tactics and remains vigilant for this type of "illegal activity."

The 17 people found in the truck were detained by Mexican authorities. The vehicle was seized by Mexican authorities and the damage made to the international boundary fence was repaired, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.